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I'm a believer that if OKC had made Westbrook the sixth man instead of Harden from the beginning, we may be talking about one of the top franchises in history or multiple championships. Russ probably would have gone down as one of the greatest to ever do it, if he'd embraced the role

On one hand, there is theoretical ideas which work.

On the other hand, imaging the ego of Westbrook going to the bench to a younger James Harden simply wouldn't be something Westbrook would do.

Colbinii wrote:On one hand, there is theoretical ideas which work.

On the other hand, imaging the ego of Westbrook going to the bench to a younger James Harden simply wouldn't be something Westbrook would do.

Is it that implausible? I'm not an NCAA guy but I believe Westbrook's NCAA style of play was very different than his pro career. He won a Pac 10 DPOY. He played as part of an offensive ensemble. Harden made All-Pac 10 1st team when Russ only made 3rd team. It seems possible to me you could have sold Russ on a 6Man role.

He has his flaws but I've never seen Russ as a guy crippled by ego

sp6r=underrated wrote:

Colbinii wrote:On one hand, there is theoretical ideas which work.

On the other hand, imaging the ego of Westbrook going to the bench to a younger James Harden simply wouldn't be something Westbrook would do.

Is it that implausible? I'm not an NCAA guy but I believe Westbrook's NCAA style of play was very different than his pro career. He won a Pac 10 DPOY. He played as part of an offensive ensemble. Harden made All-Pac 10 1st team when Russ only made 3rd team. It seems possible to me you could have sold Russ on a 6Man role.

He has his flaws but I've never seen Russ as a guy crippled by ego

It isn't solely about ego. Russ averaged 16/8/5 in year 2 while rookie Harden averaged 10/3/2. There is no way someone as talented as Russ going into year 3 says "Yeah, I'll come off the bench now".

I've often wondered what if Harden had gotten there first. If he were drafted in '08 and Russ in '09. Would he be handed the mantle of "KD's co-star" instead of Westbrook? DId OKC just view Russ as a flat-out better talent? Or was just plain timing. Russ got there 1st and thus a year ahead in development, contract extension ect.

Ego is definitely a team killer. Most of today’s NBA ball dominate players would be perfect 6th man if they bought in. Just watching three MVPs play musical chairs with teams is crazy when all it took in my opinion is a sacrifice.

Bubbachuck2 wrote:Ego is definitely a team killer. Most of today’s NBA ball dominate players would be perfect 6th man if they bought in. Just watching three MVPs play musical chairs with teams is crazy when all it took in my opinion is a sacrifice.

I mean, ego is a big part of what got these guys to the level that they've reached as NBA players. Russ isn't winning MVPs and making the 75th anniversary team as a sixth man. Even guys we think of as selfless team players (Odom and Manu for example) weren't exactly jumping for joy when they were asked to come off the bench.

Bubbachuck2 wrote:Ego is definitely a team killer. Most of today’s NBA ball dominate players would be perfect 6th man if they bought in. Just watching three MVPs play musical chairs with teams is crazy when all it took in my opinion is a sacrifice.

Ego is a double edged sword and for Westbrook his career would have never been as successful if he didn't have the mindset he had.

Great idea.
Of course ego is the wild card here.

It's almost as though if psychology/fit were more important than physical talent/stats.