Praising Russell Westbrook or providing his stats here would be boring and lame. Westbrook made a major decision when he re-signed with the Thunder and that decision calls into question his commitment to winning. Westbrook’s behavior shows that he is committed to self improvement on the court and, effeminately, to being a fashion plate. He claims to be committed to winning.
But his franchise doesn’t know how to and won’t do what it takes to win. It wouldn’t pay Harden. It couldn’t keep Durant. Westbrook mirrored his franchise when last season he couldn’t get to the Finals. Westbrook knew the Thunder’s history when he re-signed. If he was committed to winning he would have signed a shorter deal there and made management prove things have changed, forced a trade, or played out his contract.
Now Thunder fans are in the worst of all possible situations. Westbrook chews up cap space which limits free agent acquisitions. The team is too good to get high draft picks and has little to trade for picks. Westbrook will be reduced to asking high profile free agents, of which there will be few, to join him when he doesn’t have a lot to sell. Who wants to play with a guy who couldn’t win with Durant and who is just getting older and putting wear and tear on his body? Anybody thinking his best years are ahead has no proof.
Kobe couldn’t sell anybody worthwhile on joining him and he had 5 rings that proved he knew how to win. Westbrook has his GQ cover to show that he knows how to wear clothes some think are fashionable. Westbrook has proven he doesn’t have Jordan’s thirst to win and probably doesn’t have Magic’s, Kareem’s, Bird’s, or Jerry West’s. If he wants a ring he’ll have to pull a Garnett and leave. Is he tough enough?
Stephen A. Smith makes a ton of money to talk about on TV, among other things, the NBA. His delivery is overly serious and too dramatic and he says little of value. Do yourself a favor and avoid watching him like you avoid crackheads with guns.
This piece was written by Jim Swigart. Jim has been seriously writing for at least eight years and previously wrote about music for a now defunct online magazine for about two years. Jim briefly blogged about sports for an online site and currently blogs weekly about sports on his own site.
His academic background is in business and math. He has done numerous work tasks besides writing. My interests include exercise, sports, music, and politics.
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