Utah Jazz expected to buy Russell Westbrook after Clippers trade; Nuggets are frontrunners: sources

The Los Angeles Clippers are sending guard Russell Westbrook, a second-round pick and cash to the Utah Jazz, a team and league source confirmed.

Westbrook is expected to agree to a buyout with the Jazz, sources said. The Denver Nuggets are the favorite to sign Westbrook if he becomes a free agent. The athlete It was reported earlier this week.

Westbrook has the player option on his 2024-25 contract, but the Clippers want to find a trade partner for him. The move with the Utah Jazz is a sign-and-trade agreement for guard Kris Dunn, according to ESPN.

Westbrook averaged 11.1 points per game and 4.5 assists in 68 games last season, both lows in Westbrook’s 17-year NBA career. He also played a career-low 22.5 minutes per game.

However, Westbrook finished seventh in the MVP voting after starting the season as a starter and continued that way after the team acquired James Harden on Nov. 1. The Clippers then lost six straight games in early November and Harden was assigned as the point guard for the first unit, pushing Westbrook to the second line. Westbrook started just one game after Nov. 17.

With Harden as a starter, the Clippers finally recovered from their losses over the past month, posting a 26-5 record that briefly held the Western Conference lead. Westbrook has boosted the Clippers on the court with his defense, speed and energy, and off the court with his leadership.

The Clippers finished the regular season with a 51-31 record before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.

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How would you sum up Westbrook’s time with the Clippers?

Westbrook’s time with the Clippers was always going to be awkward. A ball-controlling, erratic shooter, he didn’t fit the team’s mold of players who could augment Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. But that’s not what George or coach Tyronn Lue thought. George had the best year of his career with Westbrook in Oklahoma City before George joined Leonard in Los Angeles, and Lue wanted a traditional point guard to work with.

Westbrook has been very active with the Clippers, especially after a turbulent stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. His performance in the postseason against the Phoenix Suns in 2023 showed that he has a lot left in the tank. Westbrook’s defense has also been solid. Leo built his 2023 training camp around Westbrook’s strengths: speed, cutting, and dynamic defense. But the beginning of the end for Westbrook’s tenure with the Clippers came when Harden arrived. Leo tried to keep Westbrook as the starting point guard, but Harden struggled to adapt to the shooting guard role. The only solution was to drop Westbrook as the starter.

The Clippers will miss Westbrook. He was a dynamo in transition, a change of pace for Harden, a playmaker, an impactful defender, a strong rebounder and still athletic and versatile enough to partner Harden on the free throw while being a key piece in small lineups. Westbrook started the 2024 postseason well against the Mavericks, but with the Clippers relying more on Harden on the ball, there’s no path for Westbrook to succeed anymore.

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Westbrook played 79 of the 114 minutes he played in the playoffs with Harden, too. The result was 38 points on 50 shots and just 10 assists in Westbrook’s six games.

George and Westbrook are gone now, while Leonard and Harden remain. Lou Murray, Clippers columnist

What does Kris Dunn bring to the Clippers?

Dunn gives the Clippers a player who will play a similar role to Westbrook as a backup point guard. Dunn isn’t a dynamic scorer, doesn’t have the midcourt skills, and doesn’t have a special shooting talent. He’s a step below Westbrook as a playmaker on both ends of the court and as a forward.

The Clippers are familiar with Dunn, as the 2016 fifth-round pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves has begun rebuilding his career by joining the Clippers’ G-League team during the 2021-22 season.

Dunn was traded to the Jazz on a 10-day contract in February 2023 and now has a three-year deal with the Clippers.

At 30, Dunn is a solid finisher who has the ability to finish from above the rim. He also has good shooting ability. Dunn’s assist-to-foul ratio is 3.8 to 1.2. Dunn also has the ability to defend at a high level, especially in isolation. He stands at 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, continuing the Clippers’ emphasis on length this season. While Dunn isn’t a frequent shooter, he made 36.9 percent of his threes last season; Westbrook made just 27.3 percent of his threes.

The Clippers’ acquisition of Dunn and departure of Westbrook brings the team closer to a realistic roster. The team will likely start with Harden, Leonard, Terrence Mann, Ivica Zubac and Derrick Jones Jr., with a second unit of Dunn, Norman Powell, Amir Coffey, Nicolas Batum and Mo Bamba.

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The Clippers’ next agenda this season will likely include finding new homes for P.J. Tucker and Bones Hyland, two players who requested to be traded before the February deadline and needed to be sent home before the All-Star break before they had an uneven end to the season. Mori

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(Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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