[ClutchFans] The Rockets sacrifice their future to get Russell Westbrook

first! feel lucky

 

I'm at work


And work can wait until I'm done with this article

 

Westbrook will still be younger when his contract ends than Paul is now, and OKC may not even get a single pick.

 

@Clutch did not mince words!

 

Our future is now. We did exactly what we should have done...and it's not just for Russ.

Also,it WAS NOT a steep price. This is a great deal.

We've eliminated the downside risk of CP3's age/health/contract, while increasing the product on the court.

 

Yep, the Rockets management and ownership went all in with the trade. If Westbrook can bring anything to the table it's his willingness to win, if he and Harden both wanted to play with each other they both should (reasonably) know they need to play EFFECTIVELY OFF THE BALL.

I think if this duo can coexist we might get some quality rotational players to sign with us next off season or come buy out time .

Harden's not stupid, he knows he'll only have a few more prime years left and if he doesn't get in a finals matchup soon he's going to demand a trade. Both Westbrook and Harden were able to win MVPs excelling at their own games individually, I won't bet against them to try to make this duo work.

CP3 has the game that compliments Harden but I really think Harden or Paul didn't respect each other enough to pick up their respective weaknesses . (Paul's lack of willingness to score and Harden's lack of consistent defensive effort)

 

Interesting read Clutch. I don't think I'm quite as far out on the ledge as you seem to be, but clearly there is a large range of possibilities on both the positive and negative side for this move. Here's to hoping that two middle-aged superstars who haven't been able to win the big one arrive at camp more willing to compromise/change aspects of their games that they may have been more reticent to in the past in order to maximize their combined impact in their final few years before age takes it's effect.

 

Vernon Maxwell Career
TS%: .498
eFG%: .462
3FG%: .320

Russell Westbrook Career
TS%: .529
eFG%: .465
3FG%: .308


It blows my mind how little some of you guys understand how wonderful this guy’s vision is. He is an elite, ALL-TIME passer. His sole weakness as a guard is that he CANNOT control TEMPO. Can you guess who one of the GOATs of tempo is?

James F’ing Harden!!!

Also, remember those defensive rebounding problems? Absolutely 100% wiped out. Why do you think OKC fans love Westbrook more than life itself? It ain’t just because he is athletic and plays hard every night, I can tell you that.

It is a surgical, beautiful combination of a backcourt.

Get hyped.

 

Don't be surprised if WB got traded again next summer, or even sooner

 

It is rare to be a favorite to win an NBA title so you do whatever it takes. If The Beard and Russ lead us to a title, even just one, it is worth it.

 

Wanted to include this ditty from Kevin Pelton from his ESPN Trade Grade of this deal.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/st...-westbrook-trade-grades-wins-blockbuster-deal


I suspect Morey's motivation is twofold. First, accumulating star talent is a hobbyhorse for Morey, and at this stage of their respective careers there's no question that Westbrook is a better talent than Paul. Over the past three seasons, Westbrook has produced nearly 20 more wins above replacement by my WARP metric than Paul thanks to a combination of superior durability (over that span, Westbrook has played nearly 50% more minutes) and playing a larger role in the Thunder's offense.

Second, Westbrook's contract has a far better chance of retaining positive trade value than Paul's. Had Houston simply wanted to trade Paul into a team's cap space to create additional salary-cap flexibility, it might have taken this many draft picks or more to accomplish. Meanwhile, Westbrook could probably be traded for positive value -- particularly once more teams have the ability to deal for him on Dec. 15, when most players signed this summer can be included. (Certain players who re-sign with their own teams cannot be traded until Jan. 15.)

Based on that logic, if Morey simply wanted to remove Paul's salary from the team's cap sheet altogether, laundering his salary through a Westbrook trade would probably be a better way to accomplish that goal.


Basically, Pelton says if things don't work with Russ in Houston, he feels the Rockets could *more easily* pivot away from Russ than they could from Paul. Morey thinks in multiple steps.

 

Not if we're in position to win a title, that would be stupid.

 

It hurts. It hurts y'all. You now have to root for Russell Westbrook. As a Rocket.



It'll be OK.

 

I've never seen such a polarizing trade. It has potential to be a masterpiece move or a complete bust. Can't wait to find out!

 

After reading this article

MOOD:



Please Russ do a good job.

 

First page.

Murray just secured his job for long time (in order to get out of this mess lol)

 

Daryl has been GM since 2007 - if i'm not mistaken his kids are now grown and 13 seasons is a pretty long tenure to be with one franchise.

I don't know the man but I don't think he was ever planning on staying in Houston for that long, right? Seems like he's got at least one more stop on his NBA journey regardless of how the Rockets turn out - clearly he will have the ability to write his own ticket in terms of future spots. Probably somewhere in California, I'd assume, though I guess you couldn't rule out a return to the east coast.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Rockets contingency plan here if things go super south in 2 years or so and the window is shut is to send Harden off for a draft pick or 2. Obviously, Till-man has no sentimentality here - see Paul being shipped out of town by 2nd day air.

 

“If this doesn’t work, it may be time to blow the whole thing up and recover as many picks as possible.”

For me, this is one of the good things about the trade. There’s a chance you can still get something for Westbrook a year or two from now if this gamble doesn’t pay off. Chris Paul was a sunk cost. You had to give up something to get away from the guy.

Sadly, I do think that the Chris Paul of several years ago was a better fit, but that guy isn’t around anymore and you only have peak James Harden for so much longer. Rolling with the same squad you had last year, in a dramatically improved conference, would have just been wasting time. They had to try something, and after missing out on free agency, what else was there to do that might have moved the needle? And if it doesn’t work, then blow the damn thing up!