Woj - Westbrook for Wall and 1st Rounder

[JWizmentality]

I apologize Russ.

[Dat2U]

I never quite understood the logic of playing someone while their injured. Would Westbrook have been healthier alot sooner if he had just sat a few games at the beginning of the year instead having a silly 'no dunking' rule?

[Silvie Lysandra]

I hope playing through that quad injury was a "Ghost of Christmas Future" moment for him to develop the other aspects of his game.

[Dat2U]

Russ is definitely healthy now and has his old explosive bursts back. The only thing he doesn't have is his old great leaping ability. He can still jump well, but he used to be amazing.

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Thing is, once he loses a step, he's probably done - we already saw that. Still, it's a ton of fun watching him play well now.

They gotta monitor his minutes. Especially on back to backs. Glad to see he still has it though. I was beyond worried the Wizards got another washed legend.

[queridiculo]

That inbounds play to close the game was a thing of beauty, credit to Brooks, or whoever drew that up.

Westbrook not getting selected to the All-Star game could really be working in the Wizards favor.

[nate33]

Westbrook started looking like his old self in the Atlanta game on January 29th. Since then his numbers have been almost the same as John Wall's. Both have a 31% USG, and a 103 ORtg. The big difference is that Russ is grabbing 10 boards while Wall is grabbing less than 4.

[Vator]

Glad he’s playing better for you guys. He was awful last year at the beginning of the season too (although not this bad) and then he played really well before the bubble. His quad injury, bubble performance and disastrous playoff showing really soured his stint with the Rockets, but he played well enough overall to average 27, 8, and 7 next to James Harden, make the All Star team, shot a career high 47% and was 3rd team All NBA.

I didn’t like how things started or ended, but in between he had lots of games like this one.

[pcbothwel]

Westbrook started looking like his old self in the Atlanta game on January 29th. Since then his numbers have been almost the same as John Wall's. Both have a 31% USG, and a 103 ORtg. The big difference is that Russ is grabbing 10 boards while Wall is grabbing less than 4.

Russ doesnt have the natural vision of Wall, so I think him getting more familiar with his teammates will help the AST:TOV ratio. Im also very pleased to see that despite his WTF moments and poor shooting, his efficiency is climbing because he is getting to the basket.
Say what you will, but he seems to be getting to the basket at will and converting. He is really struggling at the line, but Russ is a career 80% FT shooter in well over 6k attempts... If he can get it back near his career average, his TS will soar as he gets to the basket and converts FT.
Example last night. Russ scored 32 points on 25 FGA, but only had a TS of 53% because he went 6/12 (50%) from the line. If he only shot 75% from the line (3 extra points), then his TS would of been 58%.
Again, Russ is shooting at or above his career average from everywhere but the FT line. I think that TS can get in the 53-54 range

A TS of 55-56%, on a 30%+ usage, greater than 2:1 AST:TOV ratio, 15% TRB%, and solid (if unspectacular) defense is a legit All-Star and just a shade under Doncic.

Side note: If his positive attitude and player/coach style truly allow Rui to flip the switch and become a plus man defender, then that really changes Rui's projection from a poor rebounding 4 to a legit wing.

[smoothSeph]

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?s=20

Underrated aspect of Russ. No doubt in me once he's gone our young guys will be better pros.

[keynote]

I'd love to know what answer Troy Brown offered.

[pcbothwel]

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?s=20

Underrated aspect of Russ. No doubt in me once he's gone our young guys will be better pros.

Couldnt agree more. I said when the trade went down that on Paper it appears it was a bad trade. The wild card was two fold:
1) Wall's actions off court and is inconsistency as an overall leader and setting an example in practice, etc... No need to dig back into this
2) Russ leadership. He has WTF moments and he takes shots/the ball away from young and/or better guys...
BUUUTTTT. I felt like there was something about a guy that shows up early, leaves late. Goes 100 MPH in Game 1, game 30, game 60, or playoffs. You can see he has the confidence to stand up in the locker room and have everyone define their roles, because for all his flaws, his teammates know:
"Russ will NEVER cheat me, this team, this game. He cares and will die on this court if he has too."

That means something, especially to young guys like Rui.

[smoothSeph]

I'd love to know what answer Troy Brown offered.

Setting up the Playstation according to Brooks

[verbal8]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

Underrated aspect of Russ. No doubt in me once he's gone our young guys will be better pros.

Couldnt agree more. I said when the trade went down that on Paper it appears it was a bad trade. The wild card was two fold:
1) Wall's actions off court and is inconsistency as an overall leader and setting an example in practice, etc... No need to dig back into this
2) Russ leadership. He has WTF moments and he takes shots/the ball away from young and/or better guys...
BUUUTTTT. I felt like there was something about a guy that shows up early, leaves late. Goes 100 MPH in Game 1, game 30, game 60, or playoffs. You can see he has the confidence to stand up in the locker room and have everyone define their roles, because for all his flaws, his teammates know:
"Russ will NEVER cheat me, this team, this game. He cares and will die on this court if he has too."

That means something, especially to young guys like Rui.

I think this was the reason that Washington was willing to include the pick - they basically see it as an exchange for a better opportunity to develop the existing talent. Not sure it is great reasoning, but it seems better than the decision making process under that other guy.

[SA37]

Westbrook is really making that mid-range, angled bank shot this year. Every time he shoots it, you crings; but the damn shot keeps going in!

[nate33]

Westbrook is really making that mid-range, angled bank shot this year. Every time he shoots it, you crings; but the damn shot keeps going in!

Yeah, he likes it from the right side, pretty close to the baseline. That's the only midrange shot where I don't cringe when he shoots it. From the right side, he is hitting the midrange at 44.7% clip. League average is 39.7%.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Washington won this trade.

[ClutchDJ]

Washington won this trade.

Feel bad for John though.

Wood is the only other good player on that Houston team & he’s out for a while.

Oladipo has 1 foot in Miami already.

PJ is washed up.

Eric Gordon is up & down.

House is sub-par.


Rockets should have a full rocket(pun intended) sale.

[lastemp3ror]

There is a lot of talk about comparison stats between Westbrook and Wall, which is a discussion of present value. But what about future value? As an example, another major factor is their injury risk. It is more likely that Wall goes down for a serious chunk of time, based on historical knowledge of other players with similar injuries. He may not even return to playing professionally. It seems like a lot of people on this board are not factoring that in, which is a MAJOR concern with Wall. I know Westbrook hasn't had the best health either, but between the two, give me Westbrook all day.

[nate33]

There is a lot of talk about comparison stats between Westbrook and Wall, which is a discussion of present value. But what about future value? As an example, another major factor is their injury risk. It is more likely that Wall goes down for a serious chunk of time, based on historical knowledge of other players with similar injuries. He may not even return to playing professionally. It seems like a lot of people on this board are not factoring that in, which is a MAJOR concern with Wall. I know Westbrook hasn't had the best health either, but between the two, give me Westbrook all day.

At the moment, I think that issue is a wash. Wall has the injury concern with the Achilles, but Westbrook is older and has a style of game even more dependent on athleticism than Wall's.

If Wall's health worsens as the season wears on, maybe the advantage will swing toward Westbrook, but Wall is looking pretty good so far.

[NatP4]

In the end, we basically gave up a 1st round pick for the intangibles that Westbrook brings to the team. We aren’t going to win a championship in the next couple of years, and we weren’t going to with Wall either.