Russell Westbrook, the point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, will probably be inducted into the Hall of Fame even though he has never won an NBA championship. He is a multiple-time All-Star, a former NBA Most Valuable Player, and the first player to average a triple-double since NBA great Oscar Robertson in the 2016–17 campaign, when he earned MVP. However, some people believe that Westbrook’s career has suffered because of his lack of playoff success.
However, Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving is one individual who has frequently stepped up for Westbrook. On August 3, Irving used Instagram to alert followers about the All-NBA guard’s influence over the sport of basketball. He said via Complex Sports : “Let’s not pretend this dude right here didn’t revolutionize the game [of basketball] and inspire all of us to do things YOUR way and say f*** ’em ALL,”
Kyrie Irving giving Russell Westbrook his flowers on his Instagram story 🔥
(via: @KyrieIrving IG) pic.twitter.com/nS021jgZJt
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) August 3, 2023
Westbrook and Irving were almost traded for one another
The Brooklyn Nets probed the trade waters for their starting point guard in July 2022, knowing that he would become an unrestricted free agency after the team’s difficult 2021–2022 campaign and as Irving entered the final year of the contract he signed in 2019. But many rival teams were wary of how much dedication from Irving they would get in a potential trade after he missed more games than he actually played in his first three seasons with the Nets. As a result, Kyrie’s trade market last summer was straightforward: Lakers or bust.
According to Chris B. Haynes, who was formerly of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers and Nets briefly discussed trading Kyrie for Westbrook in July. Although there was “optimism” on both sides that an agreement could be reached, Haynes remarked that it never materialized. For the benefit of Mavs supporters, the trade fell through; otherwise, they might not have been able to sign Irving to the 3-year, $120 million contract he inked in July to stay with the organisation or acquire him via trade at the deadline in February.