Hard truths for the hardwood: It’s NBA New Year’s resolution SZN

Russell Westbrook has reportedly asked Ty Lue to come off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers. Westbrook’s hope is that this move will help the Clippers find some continuity with their starting lineup.

In the wake of the James Harden trade, the Clippers are 0-5 and have lost six straight games overall. LA’s offense has been uneven and has lacked spacing at time with their new starting lineup.

Westbrook came off the bench in 49 games for the Los Angles Lakers last season, before being traded to and bought out by the Utah Jazz. That was Westbrook’s first run of games as a reserve since his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008-09.

The NBA and NBPA will extend an early opt-out deadline of the current collective bargaining agreement as talks continues without a new deal.

The NBA’s seven-year CBA expires following the 23-24 season and has been pushed back once already from Dec. 15th.

There had been some hope from teams that a deal would be in place by the trade deadline in order to inform future payroll planning based on potential rule changes.

The league has shown a willingness to give up its push to implement a hard cap, which has been called an upper spending limit.