Report: Russell Westbrook Was Never Going To The Clippers

The 'other' LA team claims they were never interested in Westbrook

The scene is this past July, and Russell Westbrook was on the trading block. There had once been whispers of him being linked to the Clippers before he was sent to Washington, and these whispers started up again. 

ESPN's Zach Lowe however, says this is all false. In a recent episode of his podcast, "The Lowe Post" Lowe said this.

"The Clippers were never interested in Russell Westbrook... They were a rumored Russell Westbrook trade in a few places whenever that happened. They were never interested. That was never a real thing. I think they value their optionality too much."

Whether this was all smoke and mirrors hoping to drive up the trading price of Westbrook, or just smoke and mirrors for the sake of mystery, nobody will ever know. 

This of course made it possible for the Lakers to trade for Westbrook, sending Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the 22nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft to Washington. 

Russell Westbrook may be considered an 'aging veteran' at this point, but his production is still elite level. Last year he averaged a triple double by posting 22.2 PPG, 11.7 APG, and 11.5 RPG. Perhaps the Clippers enjoyed the roster they already had and didn't want to pay the kings ransom of a trade it would have taken to acquire him. Regardless, Westbrook will be very hungry to win his first championship.