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Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, once again, here to usher you into another weekend of basketball. Before that, let’s talk Russell Westbrook.
The future Hall of Famer will make his season debut for the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
It’s yet another benchmark of what can only be called a tumultuous season for Westbrook at this point. He’s gone from starter to sixth man to vampire to traded to buyout bargain, all within the span of a few months. That’s a journey that no player wants to go on.
This is the dark side of the “Super Max” deal — the contract Westbrook signed back in 2017 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The designated player extension — what we know as the Super Max — was originally intended to be used as a tool for star retention. It allowed teams who already had stars in hand to pay them up to 35% of their cap space if they hit certain landmarks like winning an MVP or making an All-NBA team.
That’s the deal Westbrook signed after becoming an MVP. Yes, obviously, it’s been lucrative. But it’s led him down a perilous journey where he’s now playing for his fifth team in five seasons. No one wanted to pay him that money.
Nobody can blame the teams that have moved him for moving him. Paying 35% of the cap to a player who isn’t an All-Star isn’t smart — much less one that isn’t even a starter on your team.
You can find multiple contributors who might be better a better fit instead. Your team probably doesn’t get worse. It might even get better — the Lakers certainly seem to be seeing a boost in the aftermath of Westbrook.
But, man. Doesn’t this all just feel wrong?
I mean, Westbrook is absolutely going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s one of the best five or so point guards to ever play the game and, officially, one of the best 75 players the league has ever seen.
To see him passed around like this just doesn’t feel right at all. It’s been hard to watch over the years, honestly. We’re in Olajuwon on the Raptors territory with him now. It was painful then and it’s painful now.
Westbrook’s diminishing skill here deserves bigger blame than his contract does. And, ultimately, there’s nothing we can really do about it. The Super Max is here to stay — and it’s also worked in a lot of cases. It kept Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard around with their teams. Steph Curry won a championship on a Super Max deal.
Hopefully, let’s just hope the buck stops here for Russ. He deserves a much better finish to his career.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Irony can be so cruel, y’all. The Kevin Durant trade has worked out extremely well for the Nets so far.
Mikal Bridges is the brightest light the organization has seen in quite some time. He seems like he can be a leader for the squad in the future. So, of course, the team wants fans to get to know their new franchise face. In a video, the team asked Bridges who his favorite player was growing up. His answer, our Bryan Kalbrosky writes, was hilarious and sad all at once.
It’s Kevin Durant.
“Bridges had to pause before answering the question because he understood just how funny it was, and then he broke out laughing.
The former Villanova star, who found out he was traded from the Suns after a call from one of his former teammates, had a pinned tweet that said he never wanted to leave Phoenix.
What a cruel twist of fate: He only had to leave the only NBA team he had ever played for because he was traded for his favorite player — who he never got a chance to play alongside.”
That’s cruel, Basketball Gods. So cruel.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Bucks (-1.5, -120) vs. Heat (+100), O/U 219.5, 7:30 PM ET
The Bucks and Heat know each other extremely well. Yes, Milwaukee is on a 12-game winning streak right now and are hitting their stride at the right time. But they’re 3-2 against Miami in their last 5 with some extremely close games played. With Giannis Antetkounmpo out due to his wrist injury, I think the Heat +1.5 feels like a pretty safe bet.
Shootaround
— Our Cole Huff wrote an incredible story on this trainer whose hoop dreams didn’t quite materialize but still landed him in a place of love. You should absolutely check this out.
— This act of kindness from James Harden is so incredible. Salute to him.
— The vibes seem immaculate, once again, for the Lakers. We’ll see how long all this lasts.
—LaMelo Ball needs his driver’s license revoked, dog. I’m sorry.
That’s all, folks. Enjoy the weekend.
