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

the spacing he had in OKC was never on the level of this current Rockets team where the lane is clear and he is surrounded with shooters all behind the 3 point line...lol at u trying to say that...bad attempt

again repeating what I’ve said for like the 4th time...a Capela type is obsolete for this team, a shooting big isn’t...I will spell it out yet again...the Rockets have abandoned big men that can’t shoot, not all bigs in general...your claim is false, it’s been false from the beginning no matter how many times u try and repackage and repeat what I’ve said

he was traded in a package for Jimmy Butler, and was traded here...please don’t act like he’s been getting passed around and any team that wanted him could easily acquire him

please tell me all the 3&D wings getting traded so easily that play defense at an all-defense level and can hit the 3 at an above average rate at high volume...I’ll be waiting

no, I did mention it...it was right there for u to read...go back if u need to

acting like OKC’s winning mainly by CP3 carrying them...lmao, just stop

SGA - 19, 6, and 3...57% TS
Schroder - 19, 4, and 4...57% TS
Gallo - 19, 6, and 2...61% TS

they have 3 guys averaging almost 20 a game on good-great efficiency...so no

yeah, we also had Ariza and Luc...there was so much more to us being great defensively in 17-18 than CP3

last year, we had him, Jeff, and Capela and were mediocre defensively

no where did I ever dispute CP3 was better than Russ defensively, my point is and has been that CP3 and his defense isn’t competing with 32, 8, and 7, and that we can have CP3’s defense and still be below average as a team like we were last year...learn to read carefully, maybe then you’d be able counteract the facts

 

Westbrook is miles better than CP3 and we extended our window with that trade

 

and to add arent 2 of those 4 picks swaps. So saying 4 future firsts is dumb. Its 2 firsts and 2 swaps

 

... as if that's not a lot.

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...0-player-rankings-from-the-2019-20-nba-season
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/2/17/21138373/nba-player-ranking-2019-20-all-star-break
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-nba-player-ratings/

all disagree

 

well its not four future firsts like home dude was trying to say

 

I didn't mind the trade. Yes, the picks hurt and we basically forfieted our future for Russ, but CP3's contract was an albatross we had to get out from under and the team was not going to replicate it's prior success with CP3/Harden.

I'm intrigued by small ball. There are times it's looked great and times it's looked awful. Against the Clippers we looked outmatched, but against the Celtics we looked like world beaters. The Clippers are probably the closer of the two to a championship level team which doesn't bode well for us.

I don't dislike our chances but I'm staying realistic. This team can implode and has played very poorly for stretches this season. Harden hasn't been himself on the court in nearly a year. His shooting has become more erratic, less accurate, and decision making skills have been unsound. The team will go where he goes.

 

not really. when wb's contract is exact same value but with 1 extra year. and if cp3 was replicating the year hes having in okc here, the rockets would be one of the top teams in the league once again. this time without GS who is the only team that stood in their way and they actually had a big to play with. not replicating prior success is something people try to tell themselves to feel better about the move. cp3 was already preparing for the rockets season when the trade happen. you add actual help to that pairing instead of the garbage that was last years "bench", its no wonder things ended up the way it did. they finally realized now to get playable guys off the bench. damn shame they didn't realize it a year ago, after the cheap owner tried to skip steps and sign scrubs throughout the year

okc has a great future ahead with a boatload of picks thanks to getting rid of wb/pg13. 15 1st rounds for the next 6 years to be exact. in a few months that's one less year on cp3's deal after one helluva year. only to go into cp3 final year before his player option.

 

While I understand if James goes down our draft position shifts dramatically but taking that off the table, keep in mind most of these picks are going to be early 20's to 30's each year.

I also would not be shocked if Daryl forecasts Rockets future drafts and asks the question, "Is there going to be a guy in the 20's I cannot pass on?" AND even then he is going to trade the pick because it is easier to by back into the first round on a later pick.

Yes it was a lot but I do agree, with @HorryForThree and anyone else who said the CP3 contract was an albatross.

Just sayin "Pickles Schmikles!"

 

Help me cope with this guys. I remember this breaking news on a late Friday night to very early Saturday morning July 5-6 of 2019. I was on a long road trip to visit the significant other's family in the Midwest. Problem is the OP's original post dates July 11, 2019? Something is not right here.

 

CP3's contract was an albatross for a player in obvious decline. As the offense became more dependent on isolation play, CP3 began to struggle more as that is not his strength, and we needed another playmaker that would also command the respect of James. Russ is averaging over 27 ppg this season and has had a positive impact on Harden - CP has never averaged 23 ppg his entire career. I'll admit CP3 is having an unexpectedly healthy and good season with OKC, but is that all him? He is surrounded by talent - Schroder, SGA, Gallo, etc. have all played excellent this year and CP has not had to shoulder much of a load.

In any case, I think time will tell whether this was the right move. Personally, I thought the Harden/CP pairing ran its course and we were never going to capture the magic in a bottle again. I think there's good reason to believe next season CP's numbers will dip and that OKC will probably be much worse as they go young and shed salary (Gallo, Robertson, and Noel are probably all gone).

As for CP's player option, he's 100% going to exercise it so there are two seasons left after this one, and two years from now I think there is very little chance that he'll still be anything like the player we're watching now, while there's a good chance Russ will still be a 20+ ppg, 7apg+, and 7rbg+ guy.

 

Pretty much a bunch of hopeful/hypothetical theories. Truth remains his “decline” that people like you wanted to believe were just proven wrong and now you’re at the point of well itll happen next year. Yeah ok. No you don’t know if he’ll exercise His player option. The obvious thing is it doesn’t look like you understand when a player has actual basketball skills and iq that doesn’t significantly rely on athleticism, that ages very well. You know what doesn’t, someone who can’t shoot, and relies a ton on being athletic. Cp3 could easily decline That last year and opt for a contract similar in value spread over years on another team he feel may fit at that time. By that time okc could be reaping the value of many of the picks coming in. You never know. You actually mentioned Roberson who hasn’t played a lick in years. The common theme for the cp3 doubters is well it’s not all him and to the people that matter the players have all acknowledged the leadership and all star level play of cp3. Yeah he’s definitely one of the bigger reasons they’re having the year they’re having. Your post pretty much sums up the epitome of someone who was all hopeful okc would be a bottom feeder and cp3 would fall off the cliff. The opposite happened and now it’s well next year will be the year.

Okc has already come out great from the trade. They have significantly upgraded their future outlook and still maintained the playoff caliber team they were with Russ/pg13. By getting rid of them, they’re still right there in the western conference pack but with that boatload of picks.

 

I cant believe you guys are still arguing about this. What's done is done. Get over it. Just enjoy the fact we have two future hall of famers on the team. Don't this for granted no matter what happens. This bubble might give us a better chance at a title just enjoy the ride.

 

Not to say any one source/stat is the be all end all but here’s another that would say CP3 has been better this season overall.

http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/position/1

Important to acknowledge that prior to figuring out how to best utilize him, Westbrook was hurting our team possibly more than any other high usage player has ever hurt a team.....ever. Freaking miracle of all miracles thatHarden was in beyond god mode to start the season or things would have felt 100x worse with what Westbrook was doing, Personally I’m on your side. CP3 plus the assets, to me, still feels like the safer bet, but Westbrook’s production/efficiency after certain adjustments were made is hard to ignore.

Guess we shall see.

 

Clutch midrange and 3.

WB went away from his pull up 2.

 

definitely give me Russ’s ability to take over games despite all his dumb plays over CP3’s efficient 15 points and whatever little impact he has on defense which has basically been nothing in the 1st 2 games of this series

Russ raises the ceiling of this team...he can get 30 or 40 on an elite team when Harden doesn’t have it...meanwhile, CP3 would provide his 15 points and that’s it

 

Even those who were hesitant with this trade, surely we can all see that Russ adds an element to this team that was lacking last season. And I'm not talking about his ability to take over a game and drop at least 30 points in 35 straight games.

Russ is a unifier, even when he is not on the court. His positive and boundless energy is contagious.

 

I was lurking on OKC forums just a little. . Russ cheering for Rockets, is causing mixed emotions over there. They were rationalizing wanting to see Russ get a ring, but also hating HOU at the same time. Puberty over there, body changing, things are confusing...

 

We are top 4 protected in 2024 and 2026; top 10 protected on swaps years (if I interpreted the details correctly).

2021 swap will likely not be triggered as OKC will still have the worst record of the group.

on the other end of the trade, Chris Paul is hurting draft capital for a team that really needs it. They need to buy him out after the season instead of collecting first round exits for the foreseeable future. Let him go to Miami with Butler where they can be second round fodder for a few seasons.