Tramel's ScissorTales: Will Russell Westbrook fit better with Clippers than with Lakers?

Russell Westbrook is changing teams. Again. Let’s see. Not counting the Jazz, who traded for Westbrook last week but who are paying Westbrook a hefty sum to go away without ever wearing a Utah uniform, the Los Angeles Clippers will make five teams in 43 months for Westbrook.

Thunder. Rockets. Wizards. Lakers. Clippers.

Westbrook is expected to sign with the Clippers after being waived by Utah on Monday.

Paul George and, apparently, Kawhi Leonard politicked for Westbrook’s addition to the Clippers, despite evidence that the franchise brass originally didn’t think it was such a great idea.

The Clipper brass was right the first time.

Westbrook is 34 and no longer the player he was all those glorious seasons in Oklahoma City. Not the player he was even in Houston or Washington.

Heck, the Clippers are hoping he’s not the player he was in the same building, wearing Laker gold for a bumbling franchise that let ballplayers make personnel decisions. You know, sort of like the other Los Angeles franchise.

The Clippers are a total load when Leonard and George are healthy and playing.

Will they be available for what the Clips hope is an eight-week slog to an NBA championship? Who knows? But that’s the question about the Clippers.

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Westbrook can’t save the Clips if the oft-injured Kawhi or PG are injured, and he’s not going to fortify them if they’re healthy. What exactly was the point?

Westbrook was a scapegoat with the Lakers. He didn’t help much, but he wasn’t the Lakers’ biggest problem. That would be health, old age and lack of self-awareness.

Westbrook remains incredibly productive: he averaged 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game for the Lakers. But his turnover rate was the highest of his career, and Westbrook always had big turnover numbers.

Additionally, 29.2% of his shots came from 3-point range, a number surpassed only by his magic 2016-17 season with the Thunder, when Westbrook shot a respectable 34.3% from 3-point range. This season, Westbrook has made 29.6% from deep.

Truth is, Westbrook’s talent and ability once was enough to overcome his excess. But no longer.

The Clippers are hoping Westbrook can be a traditional point guard, which is foolish on their part for multiple reasons. Westbrook never has been a traditional point guard, and the Clippers don’t need one anyway. They play through Kawhi and PG. If Westbrook impedes that formula, this is a disaster.

Westbrook kept getting traded for big names — Chris Paul, John Wall — with the understanding that he was the best part of the deal. Then he went to the Lakers for a trio of good players (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kouzma) the Lakers would like to have back.

Last week, Westbrook was a trade facilitator. The Jazz wanted a first-round draft pick, Minnesota wanted rid of D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers wanted Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Russell rather than Westbrook. So the Lakers, Timberwolves and Jazz worked out a deal.

Utah makes five teams in those 43 months that traded Westbrook in part for addition by subtraction.

And that’s a player that’s supposed to help get the Clippers past Denver, Phoenix, Memphis, Dallas and Golden State?

Some NBA analysts thought Westbrook would sit out the rest of this season. That no contender would take him on. I thought maybe Chicago would be a landing spot, because the Bulls are a mess, and maybe Westbrook could dynamite the Bulls to improvement.

Instead, Westbrook is a Clipper, a team that had a pulse — 33-28, fourth in the Western Conference — but a team that has imperiled its own chemistry by listening to its superstars.

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Oklahoma State basketball in trouble 

Oklahoma State lost 85-67 at West Virginia on Monday night in a Big 12 men's basketball game that served as an NCAA Tournament audition.

Like it or not.

West Virginia is an NCAA bubble team, too, and the Mountaineers looked vastly superior to the Cowboys. That’s not a good look.

OSU’s recent five-game winning streak propelled the Cowboys into the safe section of bracketology, but now OSU has lost three straight. Even worse, the Cowboys have looked bad doing it.

It’s one thing to lose. It’s quite another to get blown out. OSU lost 87-76 at home to Kansas on Feb. 14, but the Cowboys were reasonably competitive. But they were routed 100-75 at TCU on Saturday. Now the Morgantown massacre.

The NCAA basketball committee is made up of humans, not androids. The various analytics and rankings can be twisted any which way, but the committee members also use their eyeballs, and watching OSU be suddenly non-competitive will have an effect in that room.

The Cowboys have fallen to No. 42 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings. The committee doesn’t follow the NET off a cliff, but it’s a handy measurement. Generally speaking, teams in the top 40 feel safe, teams in the 40s (and higher) should be a little queasy.

Injuries will matter in the OSU discussion. Center Mousse Cisse missed three January games with a sprained ankle, and OSU lost them all. But the Cowboys won seven of eight after his return, and the committee could quite accurately be told that those defeats were an aberration.

But now OSU is without point guard Avery Anderson, who has missed six straight games with a wrist injury. The Cowboys won the first three without Anderson but have lost the last three. And unless Anderson returns, the committee will downgrade OSU.

The Big 12 standings will matter. Committee members will say they don’t, but they do. The standings can’t be ignored.

OSU is 7-8 in the Big 12, the runaway best conference in the nation for 2022-23. If the Cowboys can get to 8-10 in the league, then win a game in Kansas City, they would be 18-15 overall. The 18-15 would be a detriment, but the 8-10 would be a plus.

That makes home games against Kansas State (Saturday) and Baylor (next Monday) paramount.

ESPN’s bracketology still has OSU in the field, somewhat safely. The Cowboys are listed as an 11-seed in the 68-team bracket but not among the four at-large selections required to participate in a play-in game. So ESPN says there’s wiggle room for OSU.

But truthfully, too much focus is placed on the bracket. Not enough focus is placed on how the Cowboys are playing.

Three straight double-digit defeats. Two in which the game virtually was over at halftime.

The Cowboys’ defense, which not that long ago was supreme, has disappeared, and OSU’s offense, which never has been potent this season, has gone dry.

The Cowboys are giving the committee, which in its hands holds OSU’s March Madness future, less and less to work with.

More:An elite defensive team, Oklahoma State has been unable to stop opponents in two-game skid

Tulsa football schedule released 

The revamped American Conference released its 2023 football schedule Tuesday, and the University of Tulsa will begin adjusting to a new series of opponents.

Six newcomers join the American this summer — Alabama-Birmingham, Texas-San Antonio, Florida Atlantic, Rice, North Texas and Charlotte.

The Golden Hurricane plays three of those newcomers — TU hosts Rice on Oct. 19 and hosts Charlotte on Nov. 4, plus Tulsa plays at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 7.

Rice and Charlotte don't exactly make the Tulsa home schedule sizzle, though a Sept. 16 home game against OU does.

Here is TU’s schedule:

Sept. 2: Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Sept. 9: at Washington

Sept. 16: OU

Sept. 23: at Northern Illinois

Sept. 28: Temple

Oct. 7: at Florida Atlantic

Oct. 19: Rice

Oct. 28: at Southern Methodist

Nov. 4: Charlotte

Nov. 11: at Tulane

Nov. 18: North Texas

Nov. 25: at East Carolina

In truth, that’s a daunting road schedule: Washington, Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, SMU, Tulane and East Carolina.

You’d think a mid-major league that lost Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston (all to the Big 12) would mean an easier schedule for the remaining members. And maybe it does.

But a non-conference duo of OU and Washington makes Tulsa’s schedule quite formidable.

TU this season will not play American legacy members Memphis, Navy and South Florida.

The American previously announced that it will not use divisions. The top two teams via the standings in the 14-member league will play for the conference title.

Tulsa in 2024 begins an eight-game, home-and-home series with OSU. So Tulsa has some interesting non-conference home games on the docket.

2023: OU

2024: OSU

2026: OSU, Army

2027: Arkansas

2028: OSU, Army

2030: OSU

So nothing fantastic in 2025 or 2029, but Tulsa otherwise has some marketable non-conference games, which should make up for the loss of the cream of the American Conference.

More:Tramel's ScissorTales: How to fix Oklahoma high school basketball playoff format

The List: NBA rookie rankings 

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, has produced his latest NBA rookie rankings, complete with a best-case all-star comp. And yes, a Thunder is on the list:

1. Paolo Banchero, Magic: 2014 Blake Griffin. No one disputes Banchero’s ranking. But Blake Griffin? Interesting. Griffin in 2014 was an NBA superstar, a combination of skill and power that Banchero also possesses. But Banchero seems more likely to develop an outside game than did Griffin (who didn’t start regularly launching 3-pointers until 2016-17). If Banchero becomes as powerful on the inside as Griffin, watch out.

2. Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers: Jaylen Brown. Mathurin’s production is way ahead of Brown as a Celtic rookie in 2016-17. Mathurin is averaging 17.2 points and 28.2 minutes a game, with a .561 true-shooting percentage. Brown averaged 6.6 points and 17.2 minutes a game, with a .539 true shooting percentage.

3. Keegan Murray, Kings: Danny Granger. Ooh. Ominous comparison. Granger was a shooting star, shining brightly but quickly gone. Maybe five years of vintage play. Both were 22-year-old rookies.

4. Jaden Ivey, Pistons: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook as a rookie was more stat-packing in rebounds and assists; Ivey is a much more accomplished rookie shooter than was Westbrook. But not a bad comparison. Ivey is averaging 15.2 points and 30.1 minutes a game. Westbrook averaged 15.3 and 32.5.

5. Walker Kessler, Jazz: Rudy Gobert. Gobert didn’t blossom into a game-changing defender until his second year. So Kessler — part of the trade that sent Gobert to Minnesota last off-season — is ahead of the game.

6. Jalen "Santa Clara" Williams, Thunder: Khris Middleton. Khris Middleton? I didn’t see that coming. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has suggested Jaylen Brown as a comp for Santa Clara. But either one works. Santa Clara seems more athletic and less skilled (shooting) than Middleton. But Middleton came into the NBA at 21 (same as Williams), didn’t play a ton for the Pistons as a rookie, was traded to Milwaukee and blossomed, becoming the offensive force we see now. But Middleton always was a good defender. If Santa Clara reaches Middleton’s status, the Thunder will be thrilled.

7. A.J. Griffin, Hawks: Rashard Lewis. We remember Lewis as the Seattle SuperSonic forward who was traded by Sam Presti to Orlando for a second-round pick and a trade exception. That was part of Presti’s initial building plan with the Sonics/Thunder. Presti used that trade exception in a deal with Phoenix that netted a draft pick that became Serge Ibaka. But I digress. Lewis, who came to the Sonics straight out of high school, didn’t do much his first two years but became a high-scoring, 3-point marksman. Lewis would have been a superstar in today’s NBA. Can Griffin reach Lewis’ career 3-point percentage of .386? Early returns are positive (.394).

8. Jalen Duren, Pistons: Dwight Howard. Duren doesn’t seem capable of reaching Howard’s status, but sometimes we overstate Howard’s numbers. As a rookie, Howard averaged a double double – his first of 14 straight seasons doing such — so his numbers are above Duren’s 8.6/8.7. But Howard never was an Joel Embiid/Nikola Jokic/Anthony Davis monster. In his eight straight all-star seasons, Howard averaged 19.5/13.3, with 59 percent shooting. A great player, but not otherworldly.

9. Jeremy Sochan, Spurs: David West. Hey, another Hornet hero from OKC’s early NBA days. But I certainly don’t equate West and Sochan. Sochan appears to be a jack-of-all-trades rookie. Can’t shoot much but can do most everything else well. West turned into a high-scoring power forward, but he never struck me as an all-around player. Cut Givony some slack. He’s smarter than I am.

10. Dyson Daniels, Pelicans: Dejounte Murray. Daniels isn’t doing a ton with New Orleans yet — 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds a game — but Murray was slow to sparkle as a San Antonio rookie, averaging just 3.4 points a game.

More:Tramel: Why neither time, nor money, was right for Thunder to trade for Kevin Durant

Mailbag: Oklahoma State football portal problems 

I wrote last week about OSU’s net loss from the transfer portal this off-season, and Cowboy fans were quite inquisitive.

Chris: “I just read your story on the Cowboys portal performance. Very good assessment. The question that comes to my mind is the internal development of these players, or more specifically, how quickly they can develop. Mike (Gundy) has always talked about culture, which in an ideal world, building culture is important, especially for a program like OSU. However, in today’s portal world it’s going to be challenging to build that culture in a more widespread way with players moving in and out of the program. So the big question for me is can Gundy coach these players up quicker than what they would normally be accustomed to. It’s an offshoot to the larger question of whether Gundy can embrace the portal enough to continue success. Like all of our everyday lives, everything has to be expedited to keep up. Sounds like a future discussion around societal trends from our coach in the future.”

Tramel: Exactly. The nature of the coaching profession has changed, at least on the major-college level. Retaining players (recruiting your own players) has become a new requirement.

But no matter what a coach does, we’ll have far more roster turnover than in the past. So coaches must quickly mesh newcomers and must speed the development of young players, since there’s no reason to trust that their future is your future.

The most successful coaches will adapt to the new ways. The coaches who don’t adapt are not long for the job.

I have no opinion on how Gundy will respond. He likes to project himself as Old School, but he’s also been an innovator in a lot of ways, so who knows? The key is watch what he does, not what he says. That’s actually good advice about everyone.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today. 

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Will Russell Westbrook fit better with Clippers than with Lakers?