Raptors' Chris Boucher on Russell Westbrook criticism: 'You don't really know who he is'

Russell Westbrook is among the most polarizing figures in the NBA.

Despite being a nine-time All-Star, a nine-time All-NBA selection (twice making the first team) and the 2017 MVP, it’s beginning to look like the 34-year-old might be nearing the end of his NBA career.

Westbrook was used as a key salary-matching piece in a three-team trade between the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves that saw him depart L.A. and head to Utah, where it was widely expected he would be bought out and seek a home on a contender elsewhere.

However, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the buyout market for Westbrook’s services hasn’t materialized the way you might expect for a player of his pedigree.

“I think there are players around the league that definitely like Russell Westbrook a lot, like the Clippers, but I have not heard any traction yet,” Charania said in a recent FanDuel TV interview. “Lawrence Frank, their head basketball operations official, said he wants defense, shooting from the (point guard) position, so I don’t know if Russ fits that.

Criticism about Westbrook’s shooting and defence is warranted. He has never been a great 3-point threat and is only connecting on 29.6 percent of his attempts this season, despite the fact he takes a little over four per game. Defensively, he’s certainly lost a step or two as his signature athleticism has slowly dwindled.

With that said, Westbrook’s proven himself this year to remain a productive player, taking a role coming off the Lakers' bench and turning himself into a legitimate weapon, averaging 16.2 points, 7.7 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game in the 49 contests in which he's been a reserve. His shooting splits of 42.4/30.8/64.9 still aren’t anywhere near where you want them to be, but for a team looking for some instant offense coming off the bench, you can do a lot worse than a former superstar picking on opponents’ second units.

So why hasn’t a market for Westbrook come about? According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, it’s because he’s a “locker room vampire.”

McMenamin's comment has since been rebutted by the likes of Jamal Crawford and Westbrook’s wife. Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher and assistant coach Rico Hines also gave their take on the situation on the latest episode of Hustle Play.

“From the media, you only know so much,” Boucher said. “Obviously, everybody wants to run their mouth and jump over the burning ship. Like, oh, well, we're just going to talk about him because everybody is, and that's the main talk. But like I said, I've been saying that for a long time, media don't really know.

“Obviously, you see what happens and what comes out, but you don't really know who he is as a person, that's for sure. I know that. And you don't know how he's interacting with his teammates and whatever and what people think about them. Like, if you ask people around that really know Westbrook, they don't say the same thing that the media says.”

“I've seen Westbrook, I've talked to Westbrook, and I've never had that feeling about him. In the summer, he didn't have to talk to me. He didn't have to come to Rico Hines, and help the young guys, and go and run the two minutes after. He does all that. I've never had that situation with him. So for me, when I see that, it's like, it could have been me too. Guys could say that about me tomorrow, and then, guess what, it's not true.”

Added Hines from the podcast: “He'll be fine, man. He'll be just fine. He's a worker. He's a competitor. He ain't going to quit. He's going to keep working his butt off. And sometimes, like Chris said, it's kind of a 'what have you done for me lately' league. And how soon they forget this guy was MVP or whatever the case may be. And it's still there.

“He's a dog, man. He'll be fine.”

Westbrook has until March 1 to work out a buyout from the Jazz and to find a new home to be playoff eligible. He’s in the final year of a five-year contract that’s paid him nearly $207 million.

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