Russell Westbrook tells the truth about Clippers tenure

After this past season, many LA Clippers fans are undoubtedly okay with moving on from both Paul George and Russell Westbrook. Both were obviously top on-court contributors, but both seemed to bring their own distractions along with them as well.

Additionally, the Clippers' strategy of having Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as their two best players seemed to have run its course. Going in a new direction, especially given the financial situation, figured to be the smartest option.

For Westbrook, much of the problem last season was his fit on the roster and the role he was being asked to play. Going into the season, he looked to be in a similar ball-dominant role as the one he was in to conclude the 2022-23 season.

But when the team went out and traded for James Harden, everything changed. Now with one more heavy-usage player on the roster and in the starting five, the Clippers' situation with Westbrook became even more complicated.

Westbrook says he was not "in position to be unique" on Clippers

The result was Russ being moved to the bench and the ball being taken out of his hands more often, which contributed to his overall decrease in production. At Denver Nuggets media day, Westbrook had his own words to say on the matter.

"To be honest, it was unique, [the Clippers] just didn’t put me in position to be unique," Russ said. "I was in a position where I was playing not my position.” Westbrook does have something of a point here, given that his position on the team changed drastically after Harden arrived. Had he continued playing in the same role he was in the previous year, it is reasonable to assume he would have had a greater positive impact.

Now, plenty will point out his previous stint with the Lakers, and say that he was not any better when he was there. Which is mostly true, but his time with the Lakers was perhaps an even worse situation where Russ was made into simply a spot-up shooter at times.

Westbrook is older, and he is not as effective as he once was. That said, he is telling the truth when he says he was not put in a position to be himself with the Clippers. It was not even a situation where LA did not see Russ' value, but they simply believed Harden was better fit to play that particular role. It simply came down to personnel, and Westbrook got the short end of the stick.