Harden Durant Curry LBJ Kawhi Giannis George Irving Lilliard Lillard is debatable, but you can make a legitimate argument that he is currently better than WB simply due to today's game.
most of the people that have reservations/concerns about the move seem to be the same group from last summer. and its consistent with the reason why. the actual fit. that's what this really comes down to
I don't think it matters why/when he wanted to be here. He is was the franchise player in OKC and they were trying to build around him. When that no longer became feasible and it was time to move on, the Rockets were at the top of his list. I give him slack for that for sure as it's always great to have a player who wants to be here. The exact same thing was true for Chris Paul. When he became a free agent and wanted to move on from LA, the Rockets were his preferred destination, even over San Antonio.
Eh...by all accounts Houston was preferred by far and Miami was just one of the options. They were focused exclusively on Houston.
Did he lose to the Warriors too when he decided to QUIT in the Rockets for game 6 at HOME where we were favored and they had no Kawhi or Parker???
Were talking about 4 guys with the LA connection. Maybe not a time machine, maybe it just has been part of their private conversations. Everyone has known both kawhi and PG wanted to go to LA since last offseason right? Maybe I’m reading too much into it but it kinda seems to make a ton of sense in hindsight. In the m9ment, on the wrong side of the curtain and with ESPN spinning everything into a liquid it’s harder to see the big picture. Hindsight to be sure but I think this has been coming for a while.
I also don't think there was betrayal involved, or that he was intentionally sabotaging things to make his point about needing offensive changes. But I do think he was disgruntled for nearly the entire year, and when someone like CP3 is disgruntled, he'll make sure everyone around him knows it. Lots of folks thought Eric's "not having fun" comment was about so much of the offense going through James. I'd bet my house it was about having to deal with a chippy CP3 day in and day out.
All of these lists people are posting do indeed show that Russ is no longer a top 10 player. But he's a top 15 player and at this stage of their careers, a much healthier player than CP3. Can't contribute much if you can't stay on the court and give 100% when you're out there.
There are a lot more players I would rank above Westbrook, assuming everyone is healthy: 10. Embiid 11. Klay Thompson 12. AD 13. Jokic Then it gets a little hazy and comes down to how they fit with your team, but all these guys are in the 14-20 conversation: Jimmy Butler Gobert Westbrook Al Horford Draymond Oladipo CP3 Beal Westbrook is about 15th best in the league, but that's with him on his own team and running point constantly. We have no idea how he will work with Harden and friends, but hopefully they can get out of each others way and work together.
I guess my question for you then would be what has either AD or Jokic done that would put them higher than WB. It's like when people try to claim that AD is a better franchise superstar than Harden or a more deserving MVP when he can't even lead his team to the playoffs most of the time. As for players like Embiid, Butler, and Beal, health does matter for me. Call it PTSD from the likes of T-Mac, Yao, Dwight, and CP3, but injuries really suck. Durability absolutely factors into the equation.
Chris, you're not some 20-yr-old neophyte that thinks the NBA is not a business or that money is of no concern. Quite the opposite, you're the president of the player's association. Chris, this isn't picking teams at gym class, and you know this. Everybody that made this deal knew you wouldn't be able to take less money, because of your position, and that doesn't change the fact that your contract was devastating to the team. Particularly when you consider how much time you missed because of injury. Something had to be done. I don't think Paul was a good fit for this coach and this system. And it's unfortunate that it didn't work out. We never got to exploit his high IQ for the game, and that's not his fault. But, geez, be professional about the way professional sports work and deal with it. Don't turn this into a drama. Especially when someone just paid you $40 million a year.
We feel betrayed that his bum behind was getting 40 mill to be a role player. Thank God for Westbrook for saving this franchise. At least 3 teams would be better than us if Chris had stayed next season, or if they would of traded him for garabage, Harden would of probably requested a trade in the mid of the upcoming season. WB saved us n got us right back into the mix. We're as good as anybody is Thank you Russell Westbrook
This.....James was not having fun playing either and thats not good. He was still productive and able to carry the show but thats why he said "this year is going to be fun".
