Russell Westbrook, Denver Nuggets
The facts: The Denver Nuggets have a -13.4 net rating with Russell Westbrook on the floor
The case for Russell Westbrook: Over the last few seasons of his career, it's been easy to pile on Russell Westbrook. In the Association, one of the most difficult things to do for a star player is to go from a high-usage contributor to a role player, especially when they have to come off the bench. So few stars in the past have been able to pull it off. Russell Westbrook has been trying to fit into such a role over the last few years of his career. It hasn't been clean but you have to credit him with attempting to do so.
And with the Denver Nuggets, Russ has been asked to be the immediate offensive punch off the bench. For the most part, that's what he's been trying to be so far this season. Even though he hasn't had a ton of success, aside from a strong outing here and there, Russ is trying to fit into the role. And it's hard to blame him for the effort. Because of the team's concerns overall, it's hard to blame and quite unfair to place all of the team's issues on Russ.
The cast against Russell Westbrook: Even though Russ has put himself in a position to play a specific role this season with the Denver Nuggets, it simply hasn't played out as expected. Russ has been a widely inefficient player on the offensive end of the floor and he's not the defender he once was even with the effort. The Nuggets are better on both offense and defense when he's off the floor and even when watching this team, it doesn't appear as if Russ is a great fit for what they're trying to build.
The Nuggets have struggled on multiple fronts so far this season. The argument could be made that their biggest concerns revolve around their low-scoring bench unit. And no matter how you want to discuss it, Russ was brought in to be the leader off the bench. So far this season, even though he may be averaging 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game, the argument could be made that he's simply not a great fit for the team and may be doing more harm than actual good.