Can't you say the same for Russ? I mean he has had more knee surgeries than Blake....and his style lends itself to injury? My biggest beef is that we saw in the playoffs that good teams know he can't shoot they pack the paint and leave him WIDE OPEN, think about that, they don't care if he shoots, it is BETTER for them if he does. It would be addition by subtraction if he just goes. Doesn't mean he can't play somewhere else, but he will never lead a team anywhere because he can't shoot the damned ball. That narrative is so old and tired, it is about style of play - I want guys that are big that can also shoot the 3ball and play with Harden, I like Boogey he is a low risk potentially high reward play. Blake Griffin is in that vane a person who if healthy makes us substantially better, and if not, it shaves one year off Westbrook's contract and allows us to rebuild or get another asset a year earlier. DD
Russ hasn't proven he's absolutely unreliable with injuries, but Blake has. Russ may fall apart completely this year, but to this date, he hasn't shown it. His problem is he can't shoot. Blake's problem is he has a tendency to go missing for the rest of the season and he's been doing it since his mid-20's. One reason I wanted Harden and Russell to possibly stay for a season is to see if Silas can do anything with them, but I don't know if they want to stay, so I'm not sure I want people that don't want to stay to be here. Eh, whatever. I think Blake's contract is less horrific, so that may be a plus for him. I've been ready to blow this team up for a while anyway. Hell, collect draft picks. I'll be happy -- I've been through worse.
I hear ya, I just think you can't fix a guy who can't shoot - and has success playing fast and outhustling folks in the regular season but struggles in the playoffs when everyone hustles. For me, Westbrook is......FOOLS GOLD! As for Griffin - when you have that ceiling - I think sometimes it is worth a long shot risk...hell I would have bet on Yao Ming one more year......lol just to see.... DD
If I were Tilman I would tell them both I got f'd in the deal to being you two together and I have the right to trade you or not now you two make it work and win a Championship within the next two years or you are going to be that much further away from one two years from now when you are free agents!
I think a few teams want him just not for any good assets they need to rebuild. None of them NEED westbrook as they are rebuilding and could simply just stay the course if the rockets are trying to insist on more. They can wait the rockets out should this all implode and the rockets willing to take back matching salary and maybe 2nd round picks just to move on.
We have some good center and power forward now as offensive rebounds grabber. I think it is still okay by keeping russ. It is good if Houston still have money to get I Thomas as guard for giving some assist and Faried as rebounds grabbers for speed and doing slam dunk in the team. He is good to team up with Russ. I trust IT will come back.
Griffin is just not the type, we should look for a better Toni Kukoc type who is also athletic.... Deni Avdija..... You love Euros rite? Luka and his copycats are the way to go. Athleticism is great but mad skills are better.
Wow - having an opinion is just wrong around here these days, and kids who know nothing about folks decide to chime in with nonsense..... Who ever said I was an expert? Just have an opinion on a MESSAGE BOARD - which is where we share opinions - you should have known that by now with your nearly 2 full years here. Pay attention - and make a contribution to making this a place to share opinions and discuss the Rockets......which BTW I am pretty sure I have been a fan of longer than you have been alive. DD
No, I don't love Euros, I love skilled players who can play the game, move off the ball and have a high basketball IQ - those are the players I like. None of which Westbrook is....I have seen the Westbrook show before in a lesser manner with Steve Francis, as his athleticism wanes his game will rapidly decline - that is what will happen in the next 3 years at 40+ million a year. Players like Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Isaiah Thomas, John Stockton, Chris Paul will be effective until late in their careers because they are SMARTER than the other players and more skilled.......THAT is who to put around Harden.......INTELLIGENCE...... PRECISELY why I think we have to take a risk on other players no one wants...Griffin, Wall, Love - and HOPE they can come back....because at least they are all skilled......Westbrook's problem is he is losing his athleticism - that is worse...... I will say it again........TEAMS LEFT HIM ALL ALONE in the playoffs because HE CAN'T ****ING SHOOT THE BALL !!!!! They decided it was better to just not guard him - that is the ultimate tell.....for those people SMART enough to understand it. DD
That's the unfortunate reality, we don't have enough picks to pay someone to take this scrub off our hands so we're stuck with him. It's one of the reasons I hated the trade for him to begin with. We were the only team dumb enough to give away things of value for him
That's basically what the Euroleague is producing en masse. High bb IQ players, team orientated and decent shooters. You select the cream of the crops. And most importantly of all fewer divas. Now, not everyone wants to play in the NBA or can get used to the American culture. That's another story.
that's pretty funny coming from someone who says "Don't be a stupid person" to people he doesn't know.
To be fair, a lot of CFers were talked into it. There were some who spread his gospels feverishly. Harden himself endorsed it and this season he has been real quiet. Lol.