Can Russell Westbrook coexist with LeBron and Anthony Davis in LA?

Russell Westbrook has been a distinctive soloist his whole career. How will he coexist alongside two other All-NBA talents?

Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk only played together once, during a 1954 session when Monk sat in with Davis and the Modern Jazz Quartet, filling in for John Lewis on piano. The two men did not get along. While Miles would play his solos, Monk would continue to play chords and vamp behind Davis’ trumpet. Miles, the leader of the session, asked him to lay out. Monk, who rarely worked as a sideman and was unaccustomed to being told how to perform, kept playing the way he always did. Rumors of the discord between them was greatly exaggerated in later tellings, and the band eventually got some solid takes, but the record is not a high point in either’s discography.

Thelonious Monk is arguably the most distinctive jazz pianist to ever live — even a casual listener can recognize Monk’s playing within a single measure — a man whose style is defined by the unexpected. Dissonance, surprising rhythmic shifts, and the intermittent use of silence punctuate his playing and being able to play alongside him is less a test of one’s own virtuosity, than it is of one’s ability to adjust to his whims.

Is Russell Westbrook ready to lead the rhythm section for LeBron?

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for their own distinctive soloist this summer in Russell Westbrook — another man known for dissonance and unexpected rhythmic shifts — bringing the Los Angeles native back to his hometown after a season in Washington. In most cases, adding a player just a year removed from his ninth All-NBA appearance for spare parts would be an obvious decision. However, any team adding him is gaining not only his undeniable strengths, but his foibles and his recklessness as well.

Westbrook has always raised his team’s floor. In his MVP season, he was able to transform an otherwise lackluster Oklahoma City team into a playoff team, and it’s difficult to imagine the Wizards making the postseason last year without Westbrook running the offense. Yet, there has also been a ceiling on his team’s successes up to this point.

Despite playing with other superstars, Westbrook has refused to take a backseat to his teammates. He may lie low for a quarter or two, but he has never been able to rid himself of the belief that he can be the one to win the game himself. He’s been right enough times for that faith to be justified, though there have been plenty of other moments as well. These are times when he mistakes urgency with recklessness by forcing an ill-advised shot, failing to look for the open man, or turning the ball over. How do you weigh the value of a player whose worst instincts have the potential to hurt you in the biggest moments when it is his greatness that helped bring you to those moments in the first place?

For all the concerns about Westbrook’s presence and how it threatens to swallow the Lakers whole, he does address some pressing concerns for the team and it’s easy to see how he could help them. The Lakers’ primary need this offseason was another primary ball-handler and playmaker. This would have been the case even if they had retained Dennis Schroder and with the team deciding not to re-sign him, trading for Westbrook was even more crucial. The last two seasons, LeBron James has been carrying a heavy offensive load as the team’s ostensible point guard. Entering his 19th season, James has aged as gracefully as any player in NBA history, but the end of his seemingly endless prime is coming soon even if it is still not yet imminent. The addition of Westbrook will allow LeBron to be able to play off the ball more and reduce his burden as the team’s primary initiator.

Also, while no team would have thrived with their two best players injured off and on all season, as Davis and James were last year, their absences did expose how top-heavy the Lakers were; apart from Montrezl Harrell, every major Lakers bench contributor had a negative BPM last year. The Lakers did much to shore up their depth this offseason by bringing in a load of veteran players such as Carmelo Anthony, Kent Bazemore, Malik Monk, and Dwight Howard and Westbrook will likely spend crucial time leading this bench unit. One would expect Frank Vogel to stagger his stars’ minutes so that there is less of a drop-off when LeBron has to rest than in the past. If Westbrook can help the Lakers stay even when one, or both, of the team’s other stars are on the bench, then that will be more than enough to justify trading for him.

Russell Westbrook is no longer the same player he was at his peak. His athleticism is still potent, though less overpowering as he ages. There are moments when one can see him trying to do something he used to be able to do in the past before pulling back and readjusting. Most notably, Westbrook has consistently been tremendous at blowing past defenders and getting to the rim. Yet last season, a career-low 19 percent of his shots came in the restricted area. If this is a trend that will continue into the upcoming season, that is not a good sign for the Lakers considering how much he has struggled with his jumper throughout his career. Yet Westbrook still does much without scoring. And it is in these other areas, that the Lakers are surely hoping for the most from him. They do not need him to put up a ton of points, but they do need him to create looks for others, to initiate the fast break, and to maintain leads when leading the bench unit.

Russell Westbrook may not still be dominant, but he remains domineering. Thankfully for Lakers fans, there is a precedent for Westbrook playing sidekick to an all-time great and doing so exceedingly well. However, it was only for a few brief months before COVID and injuries derailed him. In the 19 games he played from Jan. 18, 2020, until the season was suspended less than 2 months later, Westbrook quit shooting all but the most open 3-pointers and took advantage of the defense’s focus on James Harden by driving to the rim more than ever before. During this period, he shot over 53 percent from the field while also averaging eight rebounds and six assists per game. It may not have been the most overwhelming play of his career, though it may have been the best. If, in Los Angeles, Westbrook manages to take advantage of not being the first offensive option the same way he did in Houston then his acquisition will be a boon for the Lakers.

Thelonious Monk played with a number of all-time greats — Davis, John Coltrane, Max Roach, and Sonny Rollins among others — yet in spite of their combined talent, his recordings with these men often sound forced and uneven. Monk is such a larger-than-life presence that anyone playing with him had to fall in line; one could not accompany him and play like they did any other night. But it is not like this kept him from making a bevy of classic recordings — no one’s jazz collection is complete without at least five Monk albums, but you should probably get 10 or 12 just to be safe — he simply made them on his terms.

In the past, when Westbrook played with other stars — Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Bradey Beal — they were trying to win their first championship together. Now, in Los Angeles, James and Davis have already proven that they can win a title together. They know that their way works. Also, while Durant, Harden, Beal, and Paul George were all great players, none of them were LeBron James, who has accrued more power, on and off the court, than any player since Michael Jordan. If anyone can force Westbrook to change his style of play, it is him. Also, for all that Westbrook is capable of, less will be asked of him than ever before. He will not have to drag a team to the playoffs or be the best, or second-best, player on a contender. Instead, he just has to run the offense and provide a steady veteran presence on a deep team. The question remains though, can he lay out when it’s another man’s time to solo?