Paul looked like a average player at times for Christ sake. He was struggling to beat off Gobert of all people off the dribble. He was noticeably slower this season and will be 35 by the season starts. That’s just not goodj
Other than the injury concerns and his contract, I don’t agree with you. Chris Paul was playing in a system and for a team that didn’t maximize his strengths. His front office hated mid-range shots, and he had to play the role of a secondary ball handler next to James Harden. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the moment his athleticism dipped, he became ineffective in the Rockets ISO-heavy system. Put him in a motion-heavy system where they run more sets and plays like Toronto’s, San Antonio’s or Miami’s, and he won’t look nearly as washed up. Denver would also be a good fit. I’m also not arguing that Westbrook isn’t better than Paul now. I’m simply disagreeing with your assessment that Paul can’t be an effective NBA player as he ages.
As bad as it is that we traded for the horribly inefficient player that does not play winning basketball- by also being fleeced for draft picks we have given up one of the best ways to improve other positions on our team. Positions that needed to be improved way more than guard In summary- we got an arguably worse player, on an arguably as bad or worse contract, and lost draft picks to upgrade our definitely weaker positions. This was a lose-lose move by the Rockets. Morey has made a lot of mistakes but this one is easily the worst
I think a bunch of us here are seriously discounting how smart CP3 is as a player. CP3 was partially cremated, but his mind made up for it IMO. Westbrook may have the athleticism and the indefatigable spirit, but during Hate Watch 2018 and 2019 I saw him do some really stupid stuff and make some really dumb decisions in winning time. Cp3 in winning time would lose the ball once every few games. Westbrook will turn the ball over 2 times a game in winning time. I pray Westbrook does well, man. The more I think about it, I get more nervous.
WB is better overall but imagine if Harden has a bad shooting night. And Russell has his mediocre night. That is like lot of bricks.
More heroball and bricks. There will b massive amount of btching. We have people who hated harden with his efficient heroball, dem haters gonna b out full force watching wb heroball. I do hope this trade works out though, but kinda felt like the owner just forced a big trade for the sake of a big trade
Im angry and happy, both at the same time. but If MDA can coach Russ and if Jimmy can hold him in the line, then I think this is upgrade.. but if not... Collapse
CP was a much smarter player, better ball security, better passer and better shooter. He clearly wasn't the player he used to be but those skills age well. Westbrook's "skill" is his fire, his drive, his athleticism. Those skills don't age well. Yes, Westbrook is younger. But his game isnt going to age as gracefully and there have already been signs of his other worldly athleticism dipping. We were complaining about CP's contract... The year after CP's contracr is over we are going to be paying an unathletic, can't shoot, limited skills PG a whopping 48 million. That's absurd. And we gave up multiple first round picks to do it.
Russ can still on any given night erupt for 50 points . We now have two guys who can go for 50 on any given night .
I doubt he sticks around with OKC. They don’t need him as they seem to be clearly rebuilding. Except CP3 to end up with Lakers where he may have a solid chance of winning a Championship.
Warriors before kd left had 3 superstars who can score 40 any given night now they still have 2 Clippers now have 2 Lakers have 2 And now with WB the rockets have 2
Massively underrating Russell Westbrook’s ability to pass the ball, handle the ball, along with his fantastic nose for the ball. He isn’t a great three point shooter and he has never had a grasp for tempo, but those are James Harden’s greatest strengths, and at least he is willing, unlike CP3 who is now afraid to be aggressive. Aggression and attitude age as well as anything, and so does work ethic. Also, here is some recent video of Westbrook’s declining athleticism.
Not saying that isn't impressive and that I so wish I could do that- I dont put a whole lot of stock into a random 2 minute video of him dunking and screaming in an empty gym. The way this past season went, maybe he should be practicing some 3's instead. Or maybe even free throws. But as long as we want to cherry pick short segments of videos to try to prove a point, maybe practicing dunks isn't such a bad idea either
No one said he was a perfect basketball player. But he is a HOF one, that still looks pretty damn athletic to me. That’s not cherry picking, that’s evidence. What evidence do you have that he isn’t shooting threes or free throws as you suggest? I’ll wait.
Some likes on this post, but NBA doesn't allow this, you can't rework or renegotiate a contract to make less money. What he should have done is taken less in the first place, wouldn't give Rockets cap space to sign anyone, and while more room under luxury tax was not going to let the Rockets beat GS or add another star, it helps. Of course he could have done that and Houston still trades him for Westbrook as that opportunity arises. So he would still get traded just make less money.
Current Westbrook > any semi avaible allstar rockets were going after > Chris Paul I love Chris Paul. I take prime Chris Paul over almost anybody at the guard spot. But let's not live in the past we got 2x mvp in his prime along with Harden in his prime let's go. He is probably greatest player aquired via trade by rockets since T-Mac
My favorite thing about everything is people not realizing that Chris Paul was better than Westbrook last season both in the playoffs and regular season.
