Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook has not been thriving with his new team.
According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, some executives around the NBA have had a feeling that Westbrook was the type of player who could fall off quickly.
“But for years, executives within the league warned Westbrook might be one of those players — reliant on athleticism, without a reliable jumper — who falls off fast,” Lowe wrote. “What we have seen in Washington is either the beginning of that accelerated drop-off, or a blip of severe underperformance.”
Westbrook, 32, was the No. 4 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
The guard played for the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first 11 years of his career. He helped the Thunder reach the 2012 NBA Finals and enjoyed numerous other postseason runs during his tenure.
In addition, he shocked the league by showing off his triple-double wonders in Oklahoma City. Westbrook averaged a triple-double with points, rebounds and assists for three consecutive seasons.
Yet, the Thunder shipped the stalwart to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2019. He then got traded to the Washington Wizards before the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
Westbrook is averaging 18.1 points, 10.2 assists and 9.7 rebounds for the Wizards this season. The Wizards have the worst record in the NBA.
