Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook (R) drives past Los Angeles Lakers' Jordan Clarkson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Now that the big Kevin Durant question has been answered (and the 2016 NBA free agency puzzles will likely fill out) the focus shifts on Russell Westbrook.
While Westbrook has formed a deep friendship with Kevin Durant and they're both top 5 players in the NBA, the similarity ends there.
While Kevin Durant is more mild-mannered and would rather have a low-profile, Westbrook's demeanor invites attention and he seems to relish the spotlight. His fashion sense, among other teams, show a "big city attitude" and this was noted by sportscasters like Mike Greenberg of ESPN's Mike and Mike.
Greenberg believes that Durant's decision could have been influenced by Russell Westbrook. Since they have a good relationship, Durant probably consulted Russell on his own impending free agency in 2017. It was noted that Durant does not want to go through the free agency process again (according to Chris Broussard of ESPN) and that the team he chooses would be his team for the next few years-the "1+1" contract would merely be a formality to gain more money.
Durant's choice of the Warriors seem to reinforce this, and it may also reinforce what pundits, fans and conspiracy theorists have insinuated: Russell Westbrook is leaving OKC and he probably wants to join the Lakers.
This would seem like a far-fetched assumption and it could definitely turn out that way. But there are some factors that led to formulate this theory.
Westbrook was born in Long Beach, California and that makes LA his hometown team. Russ' personality is more like LeBron James than his pal Kevin Durant. Durant did not even seem to consider playing for his hometown Washington Wizards, but LeBron could not resist coming back to Cleveland.
Last December, Westbrook recently gave the biggest donation to his college, UCLA. Even for one-and-done players like Westbrook, their college choices matter a lot because that's the last time they get to choose the city they get to stay in-which could also influence their choice on which city they would choose in free agency (see Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse forcing his way to the New York Knicks).
Of course, winning matters which is why Harrison Faigen of Lakers team site Silver Screen and Roll said they should not trade for Westbrook but rather, develop the young core of Brandon Ingram, D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle under coach Luke Walton and pitch for Westbrook in free agency.
That was the mistake that Anthony and the Knicks made-they did not wait till free agency and Melo had to carry a decimated lineup. Westbrook needs to be sold on how the young Lakers will become future All-Stars and eventually contend against Durant and the Warriors-possibly three years from now.
These are all speculation-a theory at the moment but there are many who subscribe to it. There are still some basketball fans-Lakers or otherwise, who believe that the Lakers can swing that much influence on the right type of player.
