If you’ve followed Russell Westbrook’s career thus far, then you may have chuckled when you read that headline like I did.
Is the new team orientated Russell Westbrook sincere? You be the judge.
“It’s not about me. It’s about our team. I can’t win games by myself. I can’t do anything by myself,” Westbrook said Monday. “I kind of want to take the attention off me and put it more on the team. Everybody keeps asking what I’m going to do and how I’m going to change. I think it’s more about our team and what we can do.”
Asked how his role might change, Westbrook responded simply, “It doesn’t.”
“One of the things I’m smart enough to realize is we’re not going to replace Kevin’s offensive efficiency, his scoring, his playmaking, his defense,” Brooks said. “But what we can do as a group is get better, so that when he does come back, when he’s ready to come back, we can be a better team.”
I don’t think Westbrook is foolish enough to believe he can carry this team playing the way he has been playing in the past, so I believe there is some sincerity there. The question is can he change into the player the Oklahoma City Thunder need him to be.