The Sacramento Kings have fully returned to “Kangz” territory by agreeing to a deal with former MVP Russell Westbrook.
Arguably the league’s weirdest roster just got weirder, and at this point, it’s fair to wonder out loud if Westbrook is even an asset on the floor.
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Lots of stats, not a lot of impact
Westbrook has spent the past few seasons in decline, gathering stats like candy but not necessarily putting his teams in advantageous positions.
The 6-foot-3 lead guard remains a notoriously streaky shooter and one of the least efficient shooters in league history based on volume, shooting 30.5% on almost 4,500 career 3-point attempts.
There are intriguing elements to his game, such as his ability to still get downhill and turn on the jets. He remains a formidable rebounder, even if a portion of his boards are basically gift-wrapped by teammates boxing out in the right positions and allowing him to swoop in and grab them.
His court vision has never been as good as his assist totals, which is underlined by his high turnover rate. However, he does have the capacity of making good reads, and he occasionally understands how to leverage his athleticism.
Now on his seventh team, we all know what Russell Westbrook is by now. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
(Joshua Gateley via Getty Images)
All that said, does he really help the Kings, a team that operates in between the realms of mediocrity and sheer panic?
If anything, he adds to their complexity, and not in a good way. His bang-bang plays will give them highlights, and his inconsistent defense will lose them games. You be the judge of what’s more important.
But getting back to the gravity — or lack thereof — that’s the main issue. Westbrook as an off-ball floor-spacer is simply not a threat, and defenses are well aware of that and will play him for the drive.
Will the 36-year-old have games wherein he channels some of his former glory? Yes, absolutely. But that only makes it that much more frustrating, especially for a Kings team that’s looking for consistency.
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The on-court fit is a bit of a mess
The Kings have both DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, neither of whom is a great 3-point shooter but both deserving of minutes regardless. If the Kings decide to throw those two and Westbrook on the floor, defenses will basically be able to park the bus and dare that trio to hurt them with outside looks.
This Kings roster is, frankly, all over the place, and Westbrook’s play style, which dictates that he is essentially the focal point when on the floor, feels like an almost unrealistically bad fit.
One way to get out of that is by simply playing Westbrook less than ever before, but history is a tough sell on that part, as he seems to keep managing to find himself playing more than 25 minutes per game — a number that should be considered almost extreme with this roster.
If anything, Westbrook should play the vast majority of his minutes alongside Zach LaVine in the backcourt in an attempt to provide him with the necessary slashing lanes to be more useful.
Can this experiment work? It seems far-fetched. Westbrook would essentially have to break patterns he’s spent 17 seasons on six teams exercising. There isn’t exactly a rich history of players suddenly embracing team defense and offering total buy-in at almost 37 years old.
The Kings are seemingly banking on his ability to adapt, which, given his eternal reluctance, is sort of like expecting Giancarlo Esposito to turn down acting jobs.
As such, we have to approach this new marriage with a big old case of realism.
There will be ups, there will be plenty of downs, and there will be a ton of games where his performance falls somewhere in-between. If the Kings are aware of that, fine. But it doesn’t seem ambitious.
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