Idk if it’s funny or sad watching the same 5 or 6 people justify the Westbrook trade, using hindsight knowledge, in the only playoffs in the last decade where CP3 wasn’t injured. luckily he didn’t make it past the first round, where his hamstrings would have given out, and his trade value would have gone straight back to where it was when we traded him. Literally nobody thinks healthy CP3 is worse than Westbrook. You’re debating an issue that literally nobody is arguing, which is why you all end up circle jerking yourselves in every thread.
Exactly CP3 was a better fit for us, but he broke down twice when we needed him most. Russ while injured this year is usually a warrior. I an see why Harden wanted him, but 4 1st round picks was a massive over pay. It should have been 2. The worst part about all of this was going 100% small ball. It works when teams don't get a chance to adjust, but once they do its easy to shut us out. Like Harden said, offensive rebounds are demoralizing. That will happen against any big fundamentally strong team.
CP3 gets hurt almost every playoff campaign and if he's not. When he's not hurt, his team is losing crucial game 7s...all this talk about how we would have beaten the Warriors in game 7 and CP3 has never won one. Remember, they lost to Utah in 2017, that's why the Clippers moved on from him. That was a first round series. Year before...oh that's right, lose to Portland...first round. 2015 of course the Rockets come back on them, 3-1, he's out here losing to Josh Smith and Corey Brewer, another game 7 loss. 2014, okay, they lost a close series to OKC, it is what it is. 2-3 matchup, OKC was a great team at the time. This could be excused. 2013...ANOTHER first round exit, they were the favored team against Memphis. 2012, ends with a sweep by the Spurs in the 2nd round who...were peak Spurs, so this could be excused as well. This was the prime of CP3s career. Losing game 7s, losing in the first round on a team meant to contend, never getting past the hump. No wonder the Clippers blew up that team. I hate this narrative that CP3 is this ultimate winner when the guy has never made it to the conference finals, only once, and that was with Harden. The truth is, CP3s playoff career is littered with injury and disappointment.
Very tired of this topic. Both players could go to hell for all I care. CP3 because he nut punched his way to a revenge.....almost.
Good luck, WB's injury history has just begun. His recklessness on the court doesn't suggest otherwise unfortunately. I am still wishing him the best.
The narrative isn’t that CP3 is the ultimate winner. The “narrative”(reality), is that Westbrook is the ultimate loser. Paul has never been THE reason their teams never won much. Westbrook just cost his team dearly for the 4th straight season. Paul hasn’t had a clean bill of health. Westbrooks health was in question much of the season and all of the playoffs. Paul costs waaaaay too much money. Westbrook costs MORE. Whatever anyone has negative to say about Paul, it’s just as bad or worse for Westbrook.
I think only a few CP3 fans are arguing that he's "this ultimate winner" here. I totally agree with you that his injury history and inability to lead a team deep into the playoffs are telling. But the same inability also applies to Westbrook. The trade if straight up would be a lateral move at best. If you consider all the draft assets involved, it was clearly lopsided in OKC's favor. And then we were forced to commit 100% to small ball just to hide Westbrook's glaring shooting weakness. In short, we gave up our future (or what's left of it) to make a lateral move at best. The funny thing is, when CP3 came to the Rockets, many people were optimistic that his intangibles, i.e. leadership, would be very valuable, especially keeping Harden's attitude in check. Turned out his "leadership" was the very reason Harden wanted him out. Now when Westbrook came, people were also optimistic about his intangibles, i.e. energy and fighting attitude. Well, that "warrior" mentality didn't really pass on to any teammate in the Lakers series, did it?
Again, Westbrook was a big reason his team even made the finals. Calling him an ultimate loser compared to a guy that struggled to get to the 2nd round is a bit much for me.
That was more than 5 years ago. We aren’t transporting players from when they were positives and plopping them into today to play. Start from his MVP year and watch as every single year his impact numbers plummet. Each year worse than the last. To this year where he was actually a max payed net negative player in the playoffs. A true rarity in the league.
So? My post was talking about CP3s CAREER and thus I'm talking Westbrook's career. Clearly one guy has done more winning than another. It's not a rarity that a player declines, lol, it's a certainty. Some guys do it faster, but he's still a first ballot HOF player and some of the things people say about him here are just flat out dumb.
westbrick as the #1 guy has gotten flat out owned in the first round. Rockets killed him. Then Being booted by a rookie mitchell. and even when pairing him with pg13, he still gets booted in the first round. saying westbrick wins more is flat out dumb
CP3 lost to the Jazz in the first round and they didn't even have Mitchell...just old man Joe...so yeah.
I was more just joking about Old Man Joe tearing them up in a few games. The narrative is still the same though, they lost to the Jazz in the first round. Hayward isn't better than Mitchell. Was looking at the advanced stats and yeah...rookie Mitchell was better than Hayward has ever been. Also, what is this argument that Westbrook can't win as 2nd guy but he's gone to the finals twice and conference finals how many times?
Yeah, he was. Westbrook had some big games too, Harden disappeared for a lot of the finals though...it was dumb of OKC to ever trade him since he was willing to be a career 6th man and basically that trade seemed to have Durant looking elsewhere.
