The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook via trade in the summer, but it might not have been the L.A. team he was traded to.
Westbrook, who grew up in Southern California and played collegiate basketball at UCLA, had the desire to return to his home city this summer.
The 32-year-old guard spent the previous season with the Washington Wizards, but once it was known the Lakers wanted a third playmaker, Westbrook “took control of his own situation” to try to get to L.A.
When Westbrook talked with Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard about a possible trade to L.A., Sheppard asked Westbrook about the L.A. Clippers. Here is Westbrook’s response, via Chris Miller and Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington:
“I really have to make sure the record is straight on that,” Sheppard said in an interview with NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller. “Russell actually never asked to move on. He just said, ‘If I can get to the Lakers, that’d be something I would love to do. If not, I’ll be back here.’ I said, ‘What about the Clippers?’ He said, ‘H*ll no.’ So Russell was happy being here and we were very grateful for him being here.”
If Westbrook ended up with the Clippers, he’d play with Paul George again until Kawhi Leonard returned from injury.
Instead, Westbrook got what he wanted: to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis for a shot at winning his first ring in the purple and gold.
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