Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps

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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#701 » by enaidealukal » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:30 pm

slick_watts wrote:it's been fascinating to witnesses this moment of catharsis for thunder fans who have hated james harden and rockets fans who have hated russell westbrook. this offseason has been the gift that keeps on giving.

Yeah I couldn't help but check in on the Rocket's sb nation blog to see what Rockets fans were saying- their reactions were... something.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#702 » by Alatan » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:36 pm

Dumb move by the Rockets. Traded one declined player for another declining player that is a terrible fit next to Harden and lost picks. Didnt even save on cap space.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#703 » by jpengland » Fri Jul 12, 2019 12:46 pm

queridiculo wrote:
jpengland wrote:Wow. That is horrible for Houston.

Westbrook is probably the single worst fit imaginable with Harden.

This won't end well.


Yeah, I can't imagine that two guys that have been friends going back to their days of playing basketball in a boys and girls club are going to find a way to play together.

Zero chance of that happening, they'll snipe back and forth over who is getting the ball and end up hating each others guts.


Being friends and working with each other is very different. Once the pressure mounts if they start losing games then the issues will arise.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#704 » by queridiculo » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:11 pm

jpengland wrote:
queridiculo wrote:
jpengland wrote:Wow. That is horrible for Houston.

Westbrook is probably the single worst fit imaginable with Harden.

This won't end well.


Yeah, I can't imagine that two guys that have been friends going back to their days of playing basketball in a boys and girls club are going to find a way to play together.

Zero chance of that happening, they'll snipe back and forth over who is getting the ball and end up hating each others guts.


Being friends and working with each other is very different. Once the pressure mounts if they start losing games then the issues will arise.


I guess we'll just have to take your word on that.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#705 » by iggymcfrack » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:25 pm

ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
On what planet is CP3 better than Westbrook. Paul couldn’t take a fan in the crowd off the dribble, let alone anyone in the NBA. They’re on similar **** deals, the Rockets won by a mile. They got him for a discount because Westbrook probably wanted to be on a contender


Similar players on offense. Chris Paul’s miles better defensively. Chris Paul was #1 among all point guards in DRPM last season. 2 playoffs ago he was holding down KD despite a foot disadvantage in height. Westbrook ranked 32nd among PGs in DRPM last season.


Stopped reading after the first sentence. Let’s not even continue discussing this.


Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#706 » by cochiseuofm » Fri Jul 12, 2019 1:56 pm

queridiculo wrote:I guess we'll just have to take your word on that.


Not a basketball player but in my experience OP is right, being friends with someone doesn't guarantee you'll like working with them. I have a really good friend that often is on the same projects as I am. It's fun to be able to joke around in the office / grab drinks and watch football or basketball after work. It's not fun to complete work tasks with him as we completely clash in style and end up arguing about whose approach is correct.

Of course, you could also say that because this person is your friend, you're more willing to put in the work to make it work than you might be with someone else.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#707 » by ChiCitySPORTS#1 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:13 pm

iggymcfrack wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
Similar players on offense. Chris Paul’s miles better defensively. Chris Paul was #1 among all point guards in DRPM last season. 2 playoffs ago he was holding down KD despite a foot disadvantage in height. Westbrook ranked 32nd among PGs in DRPM last season.


Stopped reading after the first sentence. Let’s not even continue discussing this.


Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.


In 2019, Westbrook is 10x the player Chris Paul is. Did you even watch the Rockets' games this past year? Did you see him in the playoffs? He looks old, slow and just washed up. I realize that Westbrook has his flaws, and can be annoying to many - which is probably blurring your judgement, but he is so much better than Chris Paul that its not even funny.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#708 » by XxIronChainzxX » Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:43 pm

ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
Stopped reading after the first sentence. Let’s not even continue discussing this.


Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.


In 2019, Westbrook is 10x the player Chris Paul is. Did you even watch the Rockets' games this past year? Did you see him in the playoffs? He looks old, slow and just washed up. I realize that Westbrook has his flaws, and can be annoying to many - which is probably blurring your judgement, but he is so much better than Chris Paul that its not even funny.


I think you're going to be disappointed with Westbrook, who is also a bit washed by this point. Assuming he's willing to make dramatic changes to his game as the clear #2 to Harden, effectively more of a slasher and really leveraging that drive and kick game then you'll probably get someone worse than the CP3 you had in 2017 but better than CP3 now. Is that really worth what you gave up? Probably, in the short term.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#709 » by ChiCitySPORTS#1 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:52 pm

XxIronChainzxX wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.


In 2019, Westbrook is 10x the player Chris Paul is. Did you even watch the Rockets' games this past year? Did you see him in the playoffs? He looks old, slow and just washed up. I realize that Westbrook has his flaws, and can be annoying to many - which is probably blurring your judgement, but he is so much better than Chris Paul that its not even funny.


I think you're going to be disappointed with Westbrook, who is also a bit washed by this point. Assuming he's willing to make dramatic changes to his game as the clear #2 to Harden, effectively more of a slasher and really leveraging that drive and kick game then you'll probably get someone worse than the CP3 you had in 2017 but better than CP3 now. Is that really worth what you gave up? Probably, in the short term.



I'm simply making a 1:1 comparison of him and CP3 - that is all. CP3 is completely washed. Westbrook just averaged another triple double. I understand that he's also 31 now and at times has a poor bball IQ and will even clash with Harden a bit.

But has several years of highly productive seasons left and as of today - significantly better than Chris Paul. The Rockets getting rid of Chris Paul deserves a parade. Turning him into Westbrook and remaining a contender and probably a stronger one deserves high praise. The 2 picks they gave up are immaterial and are top 4 protected.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#710 » by NBAFan93 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:17 pm

ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
Stopped reading after the first sentence. Let’s not even continue discussing this.


Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.


In 2019, Westbrook is 10x the player Chris Paul is. Did you even watch the Rockets' games this past year? Did you see him in the playoffs? He looks old, slow and just washed up. I realize that Westbrook has his flaws, and can be annoying to many - which is probably blurring your judgement, but he is so much better than Chris Paul that its not even funny.


This is the truth. For some reason the decline that Westbrook had last season was one of the most talked about and focused on things in the NBA - everyone harped about it to the point of exaggeration...and then when his shooting numbers improved after the ASB break no one gave him credit for that and just blamed him for the losses (when PG got all the credit for their pre-ASB wins when Westbrook was still playing elite defense and playmaking). No wonder the dude wanted a change. The media was god awful to him last year. It was really uncalled for.

Meanwhile CP3 dropped off big time right before our eyes and no one said a thing like it didn’t matter at all. He just signed a $160M contract and Harden was out there having to score 40ppg just to keep them afloat and no one said a peep about CP3 not helping him. You can tell in this thread how many didn’t even realize this and think CP3 was/is the same player he was in 2018-2018 and prior - but EVERYONE knows about Russ’ step back.

I’m not sure how the media will spin things next year if Harden and Russ don’t succeed, but anything has got to be better for Westbrook than what they did to him this year.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#711 » by reignfire » Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:22 pm

Sideways move.

Both Westbrook and Harden can put up numbers but are very flawed players: no defense, no off ball movement, stat padders.

Dantoni always seems to get into these positions, where its out of his hands. Ever since the Nash Suns it's been this way.

I can smell Morey's desperation. He knows the Harden era in Houston is coming to a close. This is the last hurrah.

CP3 is an example of players only having power if they can still play. CP3 doesn't really have any leverage left. He's done basically.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#712 » by jc23 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:33 pm

Best run for a (sorta) new franchise in sports history? Thus far OKC fans do not know what its like to not have at least one star on the team.
Be curious, Not judgmental
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#713 » by Klayforspicy » Fri Jul 12, 2019 4:58 pm

So Presti drafted 3 MVPs and had to trade all of them ? 2 of them averaged triple doubles. What more can you do ?
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#714 » by wutevahung » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:09 pm

TaylorTRoom wrote:My take? I have been critical of Westbrook, but only as a point guard, the guy driving and directing the offense. He has some great skills- athletic as hell, non stop motor, great finisher, great leader, great handle. His shot has been better than recently. His main weakness is his incredible confidence- it drives him to take over in crucial moments, keeping his team from ever reaching its potential as a unit.

I’m assuming that in Houston, he won’t be driving and initiating the offense, unless Harden is resting.

I don’t believe Westbrook would ever win a championship as a point guard. I believe he absolutely could win one as a combi guard.


His shot was actually the worst ever last year. he shot 0.29% on 5.6 3PA. It was 6-10% lower than some of his other bad years, but it was career high in attempts.

He also shot career worst from 3-10ft and 10-16ft, 0.208% and 0.333% (career average 0.316% and 0.391%), 2nd career worst from 16-23ft, 0.358% (career average 0.384%)
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#715 » by iggymcfrack » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:32 pm

ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
iggymcfrack wrote:
ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
Stopped reading after the first sentence. Let’s not even continue discussing this.


Similar players in level of talent. Obviously they’re stylistically different.


In 2019, Westbrook is 10x the player Chris Paul is. Did you even watch the Rockets' games this past year? Did you see him in the playoffs? He looks old, slow and just washed up. I realize that Westbrook has his flaws, and can be annoying to many - which is probably blurring your judgement, but he is so much better than Chris Paul that its not even funny.


Did you see Westbrook in the playoffs? He singlehandedly torpedoed the Thunder that series. .466 TS%, 5 turnovers a game, and an on/off of -21.1. Paul might not be as explosive as he once was but he’s still one of the best shooters, passers, and defenders in the league. He’s never going to hurt a team and he can fit next to anyone.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#716 » by CharlesOakley » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:51 pm

If Harden couldn't play off the ball next to the best pure PG of that last decade, I'm sure this will work out great.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#717 » by Pablo Escobar » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:55 pm

Westbrook has declined a lot. He's basically a 6'3 Simmons at the moment lol.

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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#718 » by Dadouv47 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:03 pm

Brandon_Roy wrote:So Presti drafted 3 MVPs and had to trade all of them ? 2 of them averaged triple doubles. What more can you do ?


You can check before posting something. He traded 2 of them and only one averaged a triple double.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#719 » by dho4ever » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:50 pm

TaylorTRoom wrote:My take? I have been critical of Westbrook, but only as a point guard, the guy driving and directing the offense. He has some great skills- athletic as hell, non stop motor, great finisher, great leader, great handle. His shot has been better than recently. His main weakness is his incredible confidence- it drives him to take over in crucial moments, keeping his team from ever reaching its potential as a unit.

I’m assuming that in Houston, he won’t be driving and initiating the offense, unless Harden is resting.

I don’t believe Westbrook would ever win a championship as a point guard. I believe he absolutely could win one as a combi guard.


Westbrook has to play point guard. He's useless off ball because he can't shoot consistently. He's still pretty athletic and can drive so having the ball in his hand isn't that bad. Historically he has been an above average passer and rebounder, even when not stat padding.

The most important thing that Westbrook can do is play defense this season. He should have the gas to do so, and needs to cover for Hardens' defensive weakness. Harden can skip defense and still be on a winning team since his offense and efficiency makes up for it. Not ideal but passable.
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Re: Woj - Westbrook traded to Houston for Chris Paul, 2024 & 2026 1st round picks, 2021/2025 pick swaps 

Post#720 » by lakerz12 » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:53 pm

Once OKC trades CP3 for more picks, they will have gotten a pretty big haul for Westbrook.

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