Paul George’s departure from Oklahoma City this summer came as a complete surprise to most, in no small part because Kawhi Leonard had insisted on a gag order from his prospective suitors. The Clippers were somehow able to keep things under wraps and thereby win the Kawhi and George sweepstakes, which created all sorts of ripple effects around the league.
Most significant, it ushered in the end of the Russell Westbrook era with the Thunder. The organization was able to move relatively fast on a deal with the Houston Rockets that brought back both Chris Paul and a mountain of future assets. The move, of course, reunites Westbrook with former teammate James Harden.
But a lot has changed since their early days together in OKC, and plenty of questions remain as to how they will co-exist, considering that they’ve both established themselves as high-usage players and the primary ballhanders for their respective teams. During his opening press conference with the Rockets on Friday, however, Westbrook tried to quash the notion that their dynamic will create problems, pointing to the fact that they already once made it work in OKC and that he is willing to defer to Harden going forward.
Russell Westbrook says he’s perfectly fine not being the primary ball handler. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/sATfgJ0sS6
— Lainie Fritz (@lainiefritz) July 26, 2019
“I think we play great off the ball with each other,” Westbrook said. “We’ve done it in Oklahoma City. Many times in Oklahoma City, James, he closed the game as the primary ball handler, and I played off the ball. It’s totally fine for me because, like I said before, offensively and scoring and having the ball in my hands is not the only thing I can do for the game. I do a lot of great things for the game, and I look forward to doing that with this team, as well.”
Mostly, there isn’t anything surprising about Westbrook’s statement. Incoming players in these situations often like to extend the olive branch, to let the incumbent star know that it’s still their team and that they plan keeping the pecking order. Obviously, it could be a very different story by the middle of next season, but at the moment, Westbrook seems keen to fall in line, and he’s absolutely right about how their friendship and their history together will be a major benefit to their championship aspirations moving forward.
