WOJ: BREAKING Westbrook to Houston for CP3 & Picks!!!

Gut reaction I kinda didn't like it, in terms of philosophy and fit. Are rockets worse defensively now? Can they get rw to play differently? But as a trade it makes sense, keeping cp3 another year would be a huge risk as he's fallen off. They get out from that risk. The offense could be fun to watch assuming rw is not clanging shots with harden wide open.

 

We have now inherited the Westbrook-Lillard beef... which is totally fine because I can’t stand Lillard since he hit that game winner against us in game 6 of the playoffs. This season is going to be exciting. Morey isn’t done btw...

 

Yes, that is a concern.

We will see what Elston Turner can do with the Defense. He isn't known for elite D but for some balanced Top 10 Def this should suffice.

 

The team is pretty unbalanced so I hope that’s true, but one of the great things about this trade is that we were able to move on from Paul without breaking up our core of Gordon, Capela, PJ and Harden. That and bringing back our other guys from last year = keeping good continuity while upgrading our star power.

 

praying and hoping that we can get something like 15-16 Russ, and not the Russ we’ve been seeing the past few years

he averaged 24, 8, and 10 on 45/30/81 shooting splits...took 18 shots a game

55% TS which is very high for him...32% usage

Russ and KD definitely could’ve won the title that year, but they choked against GS

MDA is really gonna have to put in work this year

 

not feeling it

 

Westbrook soonsored by Nike. Media gonna love is now!!!

 

Here before 1 mill replies

 

That is reasonable to expect. I really hope his 3 pt shooting can creep up to 34-35% but that is asking a lot. Also, I would be ecstatic if he can just get back in the 80% on FT shooting. Not sure how or why he shot 65% last year.

Can anyone compare some of the advanced stats on Harden/Paul on the court together vs. Harden/Wesbrook on the court together (without Durant) and provide an explanation on what the numbers say?

I know both player's have changed since then but if they can both play the way they did when Durant was off the court back in OKC this could be good. Will need to remember what worked and what didin't.

 

Clutch sounds pissed on Twitter, which I can understand when you're actually around the team and probably have seen the impact of CP3, his personality, generosity, community work and look realistically at Westbrook's personality, his flaws and such. I am personally not that invested anymore and look at the NBA really pure as entertainment to keep my sanity, so maybe that's why I embrace this more than I should.

 

Good to hear. Get it done Morey! IMO, Gordon, Capela, Tucker are perfect fits next to Westbrook especially Capela. We need his ability to catch and finish around the rim as well as his ability to protect the rim and alter shots. His backup needs to play similar to him with the ability to do the same things that Capela does especially defensively.

Gordon is obviously still a great fit on this team but we hopefully won't need as much of a scoring punch with this team. It may be better to trade Gordon for a wing who is elite 3 & D, can get out and run with Russ on the break and provide more rebounds and assists than Gordon could ever dream of. Covington would be a good fit next to Westbrook & Harden as well as Winslow.

Another possibility is Igoudola.I do like that you could add him to this team without giving up anyone from the rotation assuming it is Shump, etc + (2) 2nd's. I'm not wild about Iguodola but if we can keep Gordon, Tucker and Capela it would help add to our need of a long 3/4 type player in the Ariza/Luc mold that we sorely missed last year. Ideally, you could get him on a buyout but not sure that would happen.

 

Breaking: Rockets traded Harden to Arsenal!

 

If that's you're criteria, then sure he'll fit, but I don't know that to be a broadly used criteria. We would also need to add Butler and Lillard to the list, and actually guys like Kyrie are better than Westbrook there, some would even argue Kemba as better. Also, of course Durant when he returnsto health would be there.

I would disagree because you also have to consistently get to the positions where you even need those shots. The other reason I would disagree is that you have guys like Lou Williams who if given the role are great at this, even better than some guys who are overall much better players, but he's not a superstar. Embiid, Davis, Giannis and Jokic might not be the guys to go to in those situations, but they will get your teams to those positions where you need those shots in the first place, and defensively (not specifically Jokic) they can prevent the other side from scoring as much as they would down the stretch otherwise.

Either way, Wes is an upgrade especially in health and youth, and yes, in getting shots up late, though not in decision making. He's still a star even if we disagree on superstar, and he extends the Rockets window.

 

I’ve heard they are trying to get Korver to sign here now. Still think the Rockets need to get more shooters on this team and of course a backup big. I wouldn’t mind them bringing in Jonathan Simmons on the veteran’s minimum either. Iggy would be nice...just don’t know about that contract. Kevin Love is still out there too. Who knows what the Rockets do next.

 

Yes, I am sure his disdain for Westbrook and liking of CP3 plays into his opinion of the trade. What I assume bums him out the most is giving up all of the picks and mortgaging the future. Pretty sure the Draft is Clutch's favorite part of the year as is many of us here. It has been kind of depressing around here leading up to the NBA draft. My thoughts are at least we have our picks over the next couple of seasons to either use in a trade or fill in spots around Harden/Westbrook while they are hopefully still in their prime. Also, I assume Westbrook will be a little bit better trade return than CP3 to a team like the Suns, Magic, Knicks, etc. Obviously, if we are ever looking to trade Westbrook there may not be many takers since the league will be on notice that he is just not conducive to winning basketball anymore. Here's to hoping we can get a 'chip by 2023!

 

This move smells like desperation. I get it, with CP3's abilities going downhill and several other teams getting better. But still. It feels desperate. And I don't think it will move the needle. Westbrook and Harden didn't play well together on the Thunder, that's why he had to come off the bench, so I don't see this being much different. I also don't think Westbrook will ever win a championship, because he's not efficient enough to be as ball dominant as he is.

And that's without getting into the effects this could have on our reputation and our future as a team after Harden is gone. Blech.

Should be an entertaining team to watch play, though. I suppose we should be grateful for that, if nothing else.

 

My understanding is that Vegas has moved them from 10-1 to win the title to 7-1 to win it all. It moved the needle a little bit in that sense.