Man that’s a hot take - referring to my own.
From Zach Lowe -
The only important question for the Thunder after their third straight post-Kevin Durant flameout is whether this season signals the beginning of a long-term decline for Westbrook -- and what, if anything, they can do if they believe it does.
It's not really that Westbrook -- after four knee surgeries in six years -- is perhaps the worst high-volume 3-point shooter ever. He is, but that's almost trivial -- a punchline. He has always been a bad 3-point shooter; he's just worse now, so bricky that opponents are braver taking an extra step away from him when he doesn't have the ball. And as has been the case for the entirety of his career -- see last season's version of this same fallout column -- Westbrook has never been much interested in making himself useful when he doesn't have the ball.http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page...-dame-warriorsThe real issue is that Westbrook's shot has deserted him inside the arc. He emerged as an MVP candidate in part because he became reliable -- 40 percent-plus -- on what he calls his "cotton shot" from the elbow.
He hit 32 percent on jumpers from between 15 and 19 feet this season, per NBA.com. Of 104 players who attempted at least three pull-up jumpers per game, Westbrook ranked 104th in accuracy. Against Portland, he alternated between looking afraid to take them, and burying the Thunder under a pile of endless misses.
And so we come full circle. We end back right where we started.
The NBA first came to OKC with Chris Paul and New Orleans Hornets in full rebuild mode.
Now, we send the last of the MVP's Sam Presti drafted consecutively in '07/'08/'09 away and bring back CP3 with a boatload of picks and a team in rebuild mode.
It's exciting. I can't wait to see Presti maneuver with all of that firepower.
The Harden trade set the franchise back 20 years - the inverse of the Herschel Walker trade. Presti won't be around to see this rebuild through. That said - this is a blessing in disguise as the Russ/Paul duo had a capped ceiling and Russ + Adams contracts would have limited their flexibility for the forseeable future.
Now they're going to get even more picks when they flip CP3 to Miami.
Very classy Russ - https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-oklahoma-cityRussell Westbrook thanked Oklahoma City fans Friday night in a heartfelt Instagram post, saying he is "eternally grateful" for the 11 years he spent in a Thunder uniform.
The Thunder agreed Thursday night to a blockbuster trade to send Westbrook to Houston, reuniting him with former Oklahoma City teammate James Harden. The Rockets will send Chris Paul, two protected first-round picks (2024 and 2026) and two pick swaps (2021 and 2025) to Oklahoma City, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
Thanks to MasterShake for my great signature
Rest in Peace - Demaryius (88) - Darrent (27) - Damien (29) - Kenny (11)#7 - JOHN - #44 - FLOYD - #80 - ROD
THIS ONES FOR JOHNWOULD YOU RATHER WIN UGLY, OR LOSE PRETTY?
Is all the RWB merch on sale yet? Gotta pick me up a new shirt.
- John Elway“When we do find that guy, we’ve got to have the continuity on the offensive side to where we can train him and develop him and get him there. This is our fourth offense in probably three or four years. Quarterbacks need to be developed. You don’t find one ready-made. We got to have a solid system in place for when we do go after whatever guy it may be, a young guy or a trade or whatnot.”
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