Russell Westbrook went from MVP to the supreme NBA journeyman and it’s so agonizing to see

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Howdy, folks. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes, assoonas onceagain, 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 launching for the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

It’s yet another standard of what can just be called a turbulent season for Westbrook at this point. He’s gone from starter to 6th male to vampire to traded to buyout deal, all within the period of a coupleof months. That’s a journey that no gamer desires to go on.

This is the dark side of the “Super Max” offer — the agreement Westbrook signed back in 2017 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The designated gamer extension — what we understand as the Super Max — was initially meant to be utilized as a tool for star retention. It permitted groups who currently had stars in hand to pay them up to 35% of their cap area if they hit particular landmarks like winning an MVP or making an All-NBA group.

That’s the offer Westbrook signed after endingupbeing an MVP. Yes, certainly, it’s been rewarding. But it’s led him down a treacherous journey where he’s now playing for his 5th group in 5 seasons. No one desired to pay him that cash.

Nobody can blame the groups that have moved him for moving him. Paying 35% of the cap to a gamer who isn’t an All-Star isn’t clever — much less one that isn’t even a starter on your group.

You can discover numerous factors who may be muchbetter a muchbetter fit rather. Your group mostlikely doesn’t get evenworse. It may even get muchbetter — the Lakers definitely appear to be seeing a increase in the consequences of Westbrook.

But, guy. Doesn’t this all simply feel incorrect?

I suggest, Westbrook is definitely going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s one of the finest 5 or so point guards to ever play the videogame and, formally, one of the finest 75 gamers the league has ever seen.

To see him passed around like this simply doesn’t feel right at all. It’s been difficult to watch over the years, truthfully. We’re in Olajuwon on the Raptors area with him now. It was uncomfortable then and it’s agonizing now.

Westbrook’s lessening ability here isworthyof larger blame than his agreement does. And, eventually, there’s absolutelynothing we can actually do about it. The Super Max is here to stay — and it’s likewise worked in a lot of cases. It kept Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard around with their groups. Steph Curry won a champion on a Super Max offer.

Hopefully, let’s simply hope the dollar stops here for Russ. He shouldhave a much muchbetter surface to his profession.