2. Russell Westbrook (and Ivica Zubac), Los Angeles Clippers
Ah, wouldn’t this be something? Russell Westbrook definitely left the Los Angeles Lakers on bad terms as the experience simply did not go as planned. Westbrook did not pan out and the fans let him know it and he did not appreciate that.
Westbrook decided to stay in LA and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, who have a losing record since bringing Westbrook onboard. To be fair to Westbrook, he has not been as bad as he was with the Lakers but he also costs a fraction of the price.
Westbrook is not the only former Laker on the Clippers that could clash against their former team as Ivica Zubac could be banging down low near the glass with Anthony Davis. Zubac, though, would take the backseat to Westbrook in this regard.
How the Lakers can face the Clippers in the NBA Playoffs:
The Clippers are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference and are a game ahead of the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. If things go array the Clippers could absolutely slide down into the Play-In Tournament.
That is probably the most likely way for the Lakers and Clippers to square off is if the Clips fall to the seventh seed and face the eighth-seeded Lakers in the first leg of the play-in.
As far as a playoff series goes, it all depends on the seeding. If the Clippers are the fourth or fifth seed then the Lakers would have to be the eighth seed after the play-in and win their first playoff series to potentially face the Clippers in round two. If the Clippers fall to the sixth seed then the Lakers would have to be the seventh seed after the play-in and also win their first series.