Former NBA star and current television analyst Grant Hill thinks new Rockets guard Russell Westbrook is at a point in his career where he “wants to prove he can win.”

In a roundtable discussion on ESPN’s The Jump, former Suns executive Amin Elhassan initially shared his skepticism with Hill and host Rachel Nichols over the fit of Westbrook with James Harden.

“When I look at Houston, I’m just so concerned about what that fit is going to be like with those two players,” Elhassan said on The Jump. “Especially given that Russ, unlike Chris Paul, isn’t a good spacer off the ball. He doesn’t shoot, and he doesn’t move around a whole lot.”

But Hill, a seven-time NBA All-Star in his career, quickly pushed back on that notion by citing Westbrook’s experience a season ago playing alongside Paul George with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I think the good thing for that situation… I thought last year, [Westbrook] did a really good job allowing Paul George to emerge and have a spectacular, almost MVP-like season with OKC,” Hill said.

George’s statistics rose from 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in the 2017-18 season to 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists last year, with the latter numbers helping the forward finish third in the NBA’s 2019 MVP voting.

Westbrook, who averaged 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game last season, averaged 20.2 field goal attempts per game. That figure is down by nearly 16% from the 24.0 shots per game he put up in his own 2017 MVP season, before George’s arrival.

“Sometimes as a player, you want to prove that you can be at that level on your own,” Hill said. “[Westbrook] is at a point now where I think he wants to prove he can win.”

Ultimately, George pushed for a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers after the 2018-19 season to team up with Kawhi Leonard and return to his hometown. In turn, that set the table for Westbrook to join the Rockets. However, George made it immediately clear that the move had nothing to do with his feelings for Westbrook.

“You already know what it is,” George wrote in his farewell message on Instagram, tagging Westbrook. “Love Brodie!”

At all 😤 RT @JalenRose: I am not accepting any Westbrook slander!!!! — Paul George (@Yg_Trece) July 6, 2019

Westbrook and Harden are leading a group of Rockets in offseason team workouts this week at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as the team continues its preparations for the 2019-20 season.

“Harden obviously is a great player,” Hill said of the 2018 MVP and the dynamic between the two stars in Houston. “It’s Harden’s team.”

“A lot will depend on how Westbrook and how he comes into the situation,” Hill concluded. “But I thought last year was actually a good thing for him, in terms of accepting that another player can emerge and be great, as Paul George was.”