Day 21 of Black History Month
After being traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz, Russell Westbrook will join the Clippers along with All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Westbrook intends to join with the Clippers after completing a $42 million contract buyout on his expiring agreement with the Jazz, according to his agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports. On February 8, one day before the trade deadline, the Lakers moved Westbrook, the NBA MVP in 2017, in a three-team transaction. The Lakers obtained guard Diangelo Russell, who was previously picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves, former Jazz players Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, as well as Westbrook and NBA champion Juan Tuscano Anderson in exchange for their draft selections.
According to an ESPN article, Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, General Manager Justin Zanik, and Coach Will Hardy welcomed Westbrook to the team but emphasized that the team prioritized and played its younger players and would not provide any guarantees on playing time or role size. In 52 games played this season, Westbrook, the Lakers’ sixth player off the bench, scored an average of slightly under 16 points per contest. Westbrook and George played together with the Thunder in Oklahoma City from 2017 to 2019. The news of his intentions to join with the Clippers serves as somewhat of a reunion for them. After inking a four-year, $137 million contract with the Thunder in 2018, George famously declared his devotion to the team, but in the end, he requested a trade and joined the Clippers in 2019.
Although Westbrook hasn’t taken home an NBA title since being selected in 2008, he has established himself as one of the league’s top scorers. In addition to having 42 triple-doubles in a single season, which is a record, Westbrook has two scoring championships and nine NBA All-Star selections. – Steve Sijenyi
LIT604.com Is celebrating Black history month by publishing Positive news on Black people across Canada and United States throughout the month of February. Lit604 Founder Steve-Safari Sijenyi is producing and releasing a YouTube video everyday at 7pm PT that showcases Black people who embodied the spirit of Black Excellence, black-led Led Enterprises, Black-run organizations, Black allies and Pro-Black Organizations and Leaders from the public and private sector.
