IS OKC better without Westbrook?

[karkinos]

Westbrook has some great talent, but he needs to make better decisions.

exactly. look no further than sunday's laker game

[dakomish23]

Guy has been out for 2 months and we just played the Heat and Clips in his first two back..

There is zero chance this team could win a championship if you take Russ off this team right now.

We have arguably the best pg in the league, he's just rusty. Wait until he's back where he's not on a minute regulation and he's comfortable. We will be scary.

NYK fan here - no trolling

I think Westbrook is the best PG in the NBA. I don't think anyone brings it more game in game out than this guy. His shot selection in crunch time gets picked apart - b/c that''s literally his only questionable aspect. Defense. Passing. Scoring. You arguably have two of the top 5 players overall. I just hope Presti flips Perk next year to get you another stud b/c I'd hate to see this break up. Your team singlehandedly gives so many other teams hope to build the right way. Maybe one day, when Dolan is gone, we'll embrace it also.

[bondom34]

Guy has been out for 2 months and we just played the Heat and Clips in his first two back..

There is zero chance this team could win a championship if you take Russ off this team right now.

We have arguably the best pg in the league, he's just rusty. Wait until he's back where he's not on a minute regulation and he's comfortable. We will be scary.

NYK fan here - no trolling

I think Westbrook is the best PG in the NBA. I don't think anyone brings it more game in game out than this guy. His shot selection in crunch time gets picked apart - b/c that''s literally his only questionable aspect. Defense. Passing. Scoring. You arguably have two of the top 5 players overall. I just hope Presti flips Perk next year to get you another stud b/c I'd hate to see this break up. Your team singlehandedly gives so many other teams hope to build the right way. Maybe one day, when Dolan is gone, we'll embrace it also.

Best of luck to you guys, you have some great fans and don't deserve that team and ownership. Hope they can turn it around quick.

[dakomish23]

Guy has been out for 2 months and we just played the Heat and Clips in his first two back..

There is zero chance this team could win a championship if you take Russ off this team right now.

We have arguably the best pg in the league, he's just rusty. Wait until he's back where he's not on a minute regulation and he's comfortable. We will be scary.

NYK fan here - no trolling

I think Westbrook is the best PG in the NBA. I don't think anyone brings it more game in game out than this guy. His shot selection in crunch time gets picked apart - b/c that''s literally his only questionable aspect. Defense. Passing. Scoring. You arguably have two of the top 5 players overall. I just hope Presti flips Perk next year to get you another stud b/c I'd hate to see this break up. Your team singlehandedly gives so many other teams hope to build the right way. Maybe one day, when Dolan is gone, we'll embrace it also.

Best of luck to you guys, you have some great fans and don't deserve that team and ownership. Hope they can turn it around quick.

Let's hope Big Chief Triangle can get it done. Did you hear about the offer?
- 15 mil per year (by far the highest paid exec in NBA history)
- Would only have to travel to NY twice. Can't ask for a better commute
- Oversees basketball operations but can hire a GM to do the daily stuff
- May get a minority stake in ownership. The Knicks no matter how bad are literally the biggest cash cow in the NBA

Move over Jack Donaughy, Phil Jackson is now the greatest negotiator of all time.

[bondom34]

NYK fan here - no trolling

I think Westbrook is the best PG in the NBA. I don't think anyone brings it more game in game out than this guy. His shot selection in crunch time gets picked apart - b/c that''s literally his only questionable aspect. Defense. Passing. Scoring. You arguably have two of the top 5 players overall. I just hope Presti flips Perk next year to get you another stud b/c I'd hate to see this break up. Your team singlehandedly gives so many other teams hope to build the right way. Maybe one day, when Dolan is gone, we'll embrace it also.

Best of luck to you guys, you have some great fans and don't deserve that team and ownership. Hope they can turn it around quick.

Let's hope Big Chief Triangle can get it done. Did you hear about the offer?
- 15 mil per year (by far the highest paid exec in NBA history)
- Would only have to travel to NY twice. Can't ask for a better commute
- Oversees basketball operations but can hire a GM to do the daily stuff
- May get a minority stake in ownership. The Knicks no matter how bad are literally the biggest cash cow in the NBA

Move over Jack Donaughy, Phil Jackson is now the greatest negotiator of all time.

Dang, I'd take that job, I need Phil's agent!

[comingbacktousa]

I guess since I complained about this thread being locked, I should actually post in it.

To be honest Sam, I feel like most people in these last couple of days who even propose Russ' name for trades aren't actual fans of the team. OKC is my team, and Russell is my favourite player. IMO everything that he brings to the table is way too valuable to move almost at any cost and I consider him a top 2 PG in the league with CP3.

I'm not sure which trades you are referring to but until OKC wins a championship with Westbrook, there is no reason to deem him "untouchable". The team should be built around Durant like Miami is to Lebron. What OKC is doing right now is catering to Westbrook aka Wade. OKC has several holes in it. 3 point shooting and complete lack of post play being the two biggest ones. Westbrook has top 15 easily trade value in the league, moving him allows OKC to fill multiple holes without really creating a new one. OKC is trying to win a championship without a post presence, something that is very rare. Until they can do it, I believe its a legitimate question as to whether or not Westbrook is the correct player to pair Durant with.

[bondom34]

The thing is the chemistry he has with this group, and it would probably create a hole at PG. There's no way to fill in that spot as well as it is currently. He has really been good w/ decisions this year, and has been the only one getting the young guys (Adams, Roberson) good looks. Durant is getting way better shots w/ him out there, and they play incredibly well together. The offense was night and day tonight vs. against Dallas, and he's the biggest difference. I don't see a replacement level PG helping even if there's a new big man. Adams is fine with Westbrook there, as he's an offensive threat. Just my opinion, but I wouldn't trade a top 3 PG for lesser pieces.

[comingbacktousa]

Didn't Durant score more efficiently without Westbrook despite a higher usage? I don't have the actual numbers but I feel like his efficiency went up. Durant also publicly voiced his displeasure about his involvement at the end of games.

Westbrook is currently posting his highest turnover rate since his rookie season, not really sure how he has been "really good" with decisions, considering that.

Guard is the deepest position in the league. If OKC actually got a good center than a good but not allstar point guard like Mike Conley or Dragic or Lowry would be more than enough to fill that position effectively.

Since chemistry is very important, then I guess all the Perkins trades should stop as well considering his team-mates seem to love him going back to his Boston days. Multiple articles have come out about his locker-room influence.

[Loud_city]

Didn't Durant score more efficiently without Westbrook despite a higher usage? I don't have the actual numbers but I feel like his efficiency went up. Durant also publicly voiced his displeasure about his involvement at the end of games.

Westbrook is currently posting his highest turnover rate since his rookie season, not really sure how he has been "really good" with decisions, considering that.

Guard is the deepest position in the league. If OKC actually got a good center than a good but not allstar point guard like Mike Conley or Dragic or Lowry would be more than enough to fill that position effectively.

Since chemistry is very important, then I guess all the Perkins trades should stop as well considering his team-mates seem to love him going back to his Boston days. Multiple articles have come out about his locker-room influence.

I do agree that westbrook needs to understand that durant has to get the ball in the clutch but good centers aren't cheap you know.

[ghostowl]

Non-OKC fan stopping by here. Westbrook is one of my favorite PGs. He's probably the most athletic PG we have ever seen in NBA history. His only real flaw is that he tends to take dumb contested shots. He doesn't need to turn into a pass-first PG, but he does need to know when NOT to shoot. You guys have a real gem with Westbrook, if he can improve his basketball IQ and become a better passer / decision-maker, I'd say that Westbrook will become better than CP3 and take the #1 PG spot easily. You'd be stupid to trade him away. KD does need someone to take a load off his shoulder for scoring.

One thing here I want to talk about is his knee injury. I heard somewhere that he has never had any knee injury (or injury) before he came to play..even in his college & high school days until the Beverly accident. His knee might be "ok" now, but I feel like it's ticking time bomb. He should take a week off just-incase.

Look at what happened to Rose. He's the East's version of Westbrook. PGs who rely on athleticism for their games will deteriorate rapidly when they aren't fully healthy. I'm scared for Westbrook seriously.