Getty Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers
Although Los Angeles Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook has never won an NBA title, he will likely go down as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He is a multi-time All-Star, a former NBA Most Valuable Player, and became the first player since NBA legend Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double in the 2016-17 season, the same year he won MVP. But Westbrook’s lack of playoff success has put a damper on his career in the eyes of some.
However, one person who has often come to the aid of Westbrook is Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving. On August 3, Irving took to Instagram to put people on notice about the All-NBA guard’s impact on the game of basketball.
“Let’s not pretend this dude right here didn’t revolutionize the game [of basketball] and inspire all of us to do things YOUR way and say f*** ’em ALL,” Irving said of the Clippers star (H/T Complex Sports).
Kyrie Irving giving Russell Westbrook his flowers on his Instagram story 🔥
(via: @KyrieIrving IG)
Irving & Westbrook Were Nearly Traded for Each Other
With the Brooklyn Nets having a turbulent season in 2021-2022 and Irving entering the final year of the contract he signed in 2019, the Nets tested the waters on the trade market for their starting point guard in July 2022, knowing he would become an unrestricted free agent.
But after missing more games than he played in his first three seasons with the Nets, many rival teams were cautious of how much of a commitment from Irving they would get in a potential deal. As a result, the market for a trade for Kyrie last summer was simple — Lakers or bust.
Last July, Chris B. Haynes, formerly of Yahoo Sports reported that the Lakers and Nets briefly engaged in trade talks that would have swapped Kyrie and Westbrook. Haynes noted there was “optimism” between the sides that they could reach a deal, but that never came to fruition.
Fortunately for Mavs fans, the trade fell through, or else they may not have been able to acquire Irving via trade at the deadline in February or ink him to the 3-year, $120 million deal that he signed to remain with the team in July.
Ty Lue Sounds off on Russell Westbrook’s Impact
The Lakers traded Westbrook to the Utah Jazz in February. He and the Jazz eventually reached a buyout agreement which made him a free agent and thus could choose to go to any team interested in acquiring his services.
Westbrook chose to sign with the Clippers and had a decent showing. He averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.6 assists in 21 games with the team. He was also instrumental in their first-round series with the Phoenix Suns. Even with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George sidelined with injuries, Westbrook and the Clippers gave the star-studded Suns all they could handle, pushing the series to six games. Clippers head coach Ty Lue said Westbrook “saved” the season for the Clippers.
“He’s a tough dude, tough-minded,” Lue said on the ‘All the Smoke’ podcast. “What he did for our season, him, Plumlee, Bones, and Eric Gordon, what Russ and those guys did coming in the last 20 games of the season, he saved us. PG goes down and he went to another level.”