Westbrook: The unruly walker in the basketball world, where will the road ahead be?

On the basketball stage, Russell Westbrook's name was once well-known, but now, the former superstar is in an embarrassing situation of no ball to play.

A few days ago, the familiar silhouette on the Yao Fund Charity Tournament promotional poster made fans look forward to Westbrook's trip to China. However, the recent disappearance of the silhouette on the poster is like his situation in the free agent market, full of helplessness and variables. It is reported that Westbrook had to postpone his trip to China again and again because he had not found his next home for a long time, and the activities he had originally planned to participate were also forced to cancel. Who would have thought that this player who was still playing well in the Nuggets last season would face such a dilemma.

Last season, Westbrook made an unignorable contribution to the Nuggets. Despite his games, unbelievable layups and poor shooting options, he injected much-needed offensive creativity into the Nuggets’ weak second team. On the defensive end, he was full of passion; when he was released, he dared to take action and hit key three-pointers many times in the playoffs.

Of course, Westbrook's weaknesses are also known. Poor projection ability, lack of thinking instinct for games, and declining athletic ability with age have been discussed repeatedly in the past few seasons. But coach Malone of the Nuggets teaches according to his aptitude, allowing him to advance a large number of fast breaks and control more ball rights, allowing him to create opportunities for himself and his teammates through breakthroughs. Although this often leads to ironclads or mistakes, the team has given him full trust. After all, for the Nuggets, which have two top-paid players, MVP in their year, and Jokic and Murray, the winner sometimes falls on Westbrook, who has the veteran's basic salary. The root cause may be traced back to former general manager Calvin Booth.

Last season, Westbrook and the Nuggets achieved a win-win situation. The Lakers and the Clippers' bad experience made him urgently need a new team that fully supports and trusts him. The decline in physical functions and fixed style make him need an excellent pick-and-roll match, and the Nuggets just meet these conditions. In the Nuggets, Westbrook played many exciting games. Before the end of the season, some media even said that Malone was dismissed because of reusing Westbrook, which is undoubtedly nonsense. Westbrook is like a dice full of uncertainty. Although it can make mistakes, it can bring vitality to the team. Without him, the Nuggets are likely to be eliminated by the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

However, when the contract was renewed in the summer, the situation took a sharp turn. After the Nuggets traded Porter Jr. to unpack the salary space, they did not renew Westbrook, who had a good running-in with the team, but instead retrieved Bruce Brown, who had previously performed poorly. This seems unreasonable, but it is actually similar to the workplace: employees expect a salary increase, and the boss believes that their job is a substitute, and in the end, the two sides split up.

So, why is Westbrook, who performed well last season, no one cares about the free agent market? Most teams are worried that his outstanding performance will not be able to continue at home. He plays radically and requires a lot of ball rights but is not efficient, which will affect the team's tactical compatibility and space. The championship team dare not take risks, and the team rebuilding is afraid that he will squeeze out the space for rookies to grow. At present, only mid-range teams such as the Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings are interested, but they just want to get a bargain with the veteran's basic salary.

Westbrook's perception of himself seems to never fit in with his perception of the alliance. He is eager to be the core, join a strong team, get big contracts and respect, but the reality is that he is only suitable for a substitute role with limited time. The strong team is discouraged by him, and most teams are unwilling to give him a basic salary. His former teammate Anthony also had no ball to play because of himself, but Westbrook seemed even more rebellious.

Nowadays, it is speculation that Westbrook may compromise with reality and accept lower team positioning or contracts. But with his personality, things may not be as we think. Just like he never plays cards on the court, it is hard for us to predict his choice. Where will this unique star go in the future? We can only sincerely wish him good luck and hope that he can find his own world in the basketball world.