Paul George Broke Russell Westbrook As We Once Knew Him
[The Hoop Collective] - “One thing Russell Westbrook is not known for is he’s not a real social guy when it comes to team dinners, hanging out, cookouts at the house, playing video games and doing those types of things. Westbrook was kind of off and isolated.
“He’s kind of broken out of that shell with Paul George.”
“It’s a conversation I’ve had with him and other people have talked to him about. He’s aware of the idea that people don’t want to play with him,” said Young. Whether that’s true or not. Really, this is kind of an unfair setup for him. Paul George coming to Oklahoma City; they were never on the radar. It was well known that the Lakers were his preferred destination.
“If Westbrook can pull it off, it’s a feather in his cap for sure. At the same time, it’s going to be something people are going to talk about. It’s going to be a narrative that persists if Paul George leaves whether it’s Westbrook’s fault or not.”
Russell Westbrook is one of the more polarizing players in the NBA. He’s known for being demonstrative and a bit of an asshole. There were always stories of him and Durant butting heads mostly because of his personality, but as Royce Young talks about on The Hoop Collective, things have changed.
Yes, Westbrook was that at one point in his career. But, he’s now married with a kid and has been a bit different. He’s always been the loner type and extremely competitive, which also made him combative. However, this year with Paul George it was a bit different. Westbrook became more accessible behind the scenes. More importantly, Westbrook was forced to adapt as George came over in a surprise trade that most people weren’t expecting.
The key here though is the fact that Westbrook is self-aware about the thought of players not wanting to play with him. In the era we are in today with needing multiple stars together in order to compete, it’s important that Westbrook acknowledges that. Oklahoma City is in a tough spot to begin with in terms of signing free agents. It’s not exactly a destination location and depending what George does, they’ll have money tied up for the 2018-19 season.
If Westbrook is willing to adapt though and at least acknowledge this, it’s a step in the right direction. When he sits in free agent meetings with people interested in Oklahoma City, this is something that will no doubt come up and Westbrook can at least give some perspective about changing.