The thing is... he was better... but seemed much better only because the Nets were an exciting young hardworking team. That aside, Russell went from horrible inefficient bad defender to slightly inefficient meh defender with higher usage. This is about GSW maintaining flexibility in the 1+ year timeframe by having an asset to trade. The value of that is tbd.
He wasn't a scrub, but he wasn't as good as expected either. But regardless, i'm not denying he got better, that's a fact, but i wouldn't be so fast in saying the Warriors just got another star etc...are we even expecting him to have the same or a better impact than guys like Derozan or Irving had on their last teams?
I don't think we disagree on that, the potential is there, it's just that for what he showed as today, i'm not sure he makes the Warriors a better team. Fit is important, Russell is a poor defender, he doesn't exactly have a good shot selection, his iq imo is not very high either, and next to Curry he'll be forced to play against much bigger and better players than he had last season so, overall, for a team that has been so good because they had great ball movement but also the best defense in the league, adding Russel for Iguodala and Durant...i don't know, i'm just not sold, i think they'll be definitely worse as a team, even when Klay comes back, they won't have three/four good to elite defenders on the court, but actually two guys to hide.
I don’t think anybody is making the case they’re better with Russell than KD. But with KD going to Nets, this was basically GS’s only avenue to add talent.
The point isnt that Golden State aquiring Russel makes them a great team or an instant contender next season. It's that in spite of being well into the luxury tax, with Kevin Durant leaving, Klay thompson expected to miss 90% of the season and little to no asset to acquire talent/help, the Warriors somehow acquired a 23 year old guard who led his team to the playoffs last year. Russell probably isn't some great player, but he was well sought after, by the Lakers, Wolves as well as others... and the warriors with zero cap space or assets, manages to just pick him up for 1 measly first rounder and a 35 yr old Iggy. Of course a lot of that is luck (nets needing space for Jordan) and the cost of losing Durant. To put it in perspective, teams like the Heat/Rockets were going through all kind of machinations all week to get butler, advertising/selling their assets for cap space... the Warriors pretty much just casually grab Russell for a salary dump and a first when they were suppose to be stinging over the loss of Durant.
Well, i mean, that's pretty obvious, and i don't disagree with this, but what i'm saying is while in terms of talent they get better by swapping Russell with Iggy, in terms of need and fit, i don't know, losing Iguodala after they already lost KD is going to be big for their defense, they have literally zero 3&D guys now, good luck hiding Curry and Russell against the backcourts of the West. If Chris will be somehow healty i suddenly like our chances cause nobody will be able to guard Harden, and we'll actually have for the first time in many years the chance to abuse their guards.
Russell can replace Thompson next season and still give GS an elite back court, at least offensively. However their future isn't all that great. Their best player is an aging Steph with injury history. Their second best player has a torn ACL and who knows what he will look like when he comes back. They have four max contracts and with those very little room to add good role players. I think their best days are behind them. If anything Russell gives them a piece to build around or trade for assets when the rebuilding inevitably comes in the not too distant future. That may be the main point of this trade.
How are they done? Klay will be back They STILL have 4 all-stars on the damn team with Russell..... I don’t care if the rest is filled out with minimum salary, they will still probably beat us. The rockets Might not even make top 4 in the west next year....in fact, if cp3 continues his decline, just making the playoffs could be in serious jeopardy. Think about it. Warriors. Nuggets, young guys continue to get better, Michael porter JR now active Lakers , AD, Bron, Kuz, cap space Jazz add Conley AND Bogdanovic Blazers, add bazemore, kept Hood. I’d say all these teams are better than the rockets RIGHT now. Mavs will make a big leap, Spurs will be healthy Thunder Clippers Meanwhile our locker room is fractured whether they want to admit it or not, we have been actively shopping EGO and Clint and obviously could not get any deals done, and they fired Mike Ds coaching staff. This season could get ugly REAL fast
I'm starting to think OKC should just give up, i wonder if they're even going to use the MLE...we should trade the farm for George and force them to give him up lol.
I watch a lot of thunder games. Their issues are mostly Westbrook’s decision making/poor shot selection and Steve Adams being the start of a lot of defensive break downs. He is a point of attack they seriously need to get rid of him and his salary. People also talk about their shooting but if you take away Westbrook’s historically bad volume outside shooting, the thunder are one of top 3pt shooting teams in the league. They can stil be a force but should have probably fired Donovan and got a coach that will keep Westbrook in check
shrug, Russell is very talented and I like watching him play, but this is whatever to me Russell and Curry in the backcourt is BBQ chicken defensively
