That day, reflecting on nearly a decade spent with the guard, two things came to Brooks’ mind above all else: Westbrook’s generational, Oscar Robertson-like proficiency, and his drive.
“I’m happy he’s successful. He took a lot of criticism — well, we took a lot of criticism … and give him all the credit,” Brooks said at the time. “He worked his butt off to be the player he is and he deserves what he’s getting right now.”
Four years later, eye-popping numbers and an inextinguishable competitive fire remain Westbrook’s calling cards. When the Wizards traded John Wall and a future first-round pick to Houston in exchange for Westbrook on Wednesday night, there were a number of questions worth asking about the deal, including the nine-time all-star’s fit on a Bradley Beal-led team and the trade’s potential long-term benefits for a young Washington roster.
But the Wizards can at least be sure that they have acquired one of the league’s fiercest — and most consistently fierce — competitors. They are receiving a known quantity in exchange for a point guard who hasn’t played in an NBA game in nearly two years. For a team who just a few weeks ago thought that they would be trying to work their way into the playoff conversation with a point guard who might be on a minutes restriction and sitting out games every so often, Westbrook’s arrival changes a lot.
“It’s all going to come down to the stamina to go through a training camp and then exhibition games,” Brooks said of Wall in a virtual news conference Tuesday.
But healthy at 32, Westbrook has shown no signs that drive is waning. He averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and seven assists this past season in Houston playing alongside James Harden, who is not exactly known for his generosity with the ball.
Westbrook also shot a career-best 47.2 percent from the field, good enough to warrant his ninth All-NBA nod, tying him with Durant and Chris Paul. Among active players, only LeBron James has more, with 16. The California native averaged a triple-double during his MVP season in 2016-17, which hadn’t been done since Robertson in 1962. Westbrook then did it again the next two season.
It’s difficult to argue with those pure numbers on paper, but the biggest short-term question for the Wizards is likely about Westbrook’s fit.
As a player, he isn’t molded so differently from Wall. Both excel playing downhill, driving to the rim and are devastatingly quick in transition. Neither is a strong shooter from long distance. Both have the ability to modulate speed and change direction on a dime, adding an explosive quality to whatever offense they’re in.
The Wizards want to play fast on offense this season, Westbrook should be able to help them push pace. And Westbrook will help lighten the scoring load for Beal at least as much as Wall would have.
As a personality, Westbrook is no shrinking violet. His role on the team alongside Beal, who took over as Washington’s leader on and off the court while Wall was injured for the past two years, remains to be seen.
Brooks, thanks to his Oklahoma City days, has experience with that particular balancing act. He spoke Tuesday in a virtual news conference about incorporating an assertive, ball-dominant player such as Wall alongside Beal’s expanded skill set. Many of the principles he mentioned hold true with Westbrook — he even referenced his time coaching both Durant and Westbrook as young stars with the Thunder.
“The more good players that you have that can play-make, the better you become. And it’s also like — if you look at all the teams that have high-level players, elite players … you can rotate those minutes so they can be off the court,” Brooks said. “They’re not always on the court together. One, that helps the second unit because then you have an all-star player with them. There’s a balance on, to have both of them play make. Now if we really want to become a really good team, it’s about sacrificing and finding a third playmaker. We have two right now. My job is to be able to find a third playmaker that can make plays for the team.”