Could Russell Westbrook End Up In Golden State?

Not all good things stay together, or great for that matter. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won 6 NBA championships during their partnership (could have been 8 had he not retired twice and left basketball for a mind-boggling baseball decision), as well as Kobe and Shaq winning 3 rings together as a duo in Los Angeles. And now, sadly, those kind of conversations are now starting to include arguably the best, and youngest duo in the league: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

They’ve been best friends since the beginning, they’ve been All-Stars together and they’re both the go-to guys on the Oklahoma City Thunder (although the word “go-to” should only describe Durant in crunch-time, not Westbrook. He’s a point-guard.), but there’s something in the middle. Something that just isn’t quite right, and that’s Westbrook.

I’m not saying that Russ was a bad fit from the start, I’m saying that he’s slowly grown into that category the last two seasons. He’s never been a great shooter, 3-point shooter and ball handler for that matter, and that’s coming back to his UCLA days. He’s a shooting-guard playing a point-guard role in OKC (which doesn’t end well when you have a franchise player in Durant who averages nearly 30 points a night).

Remember a guy by the name of Allen Iverson? He’s a Hall of Fame player and the best that ever played the game under 6-foot, but he was forced to play the point guard role throughout his career when he couldn’t. He’s naturally a shooter. That’s why teams gave him a bad reputation that he’s a ball-hog and won’t help your team win a championship because he’ll always need it in his hands. It’s an addiction.

During the ’08-09 season, Westbrook averaged 14 shots a night (41.8 percent) for 16 points, 8 assists and 3.3 turnovers. In 2010-11, he averaged 21.9 points (17 shots, 44 percent), 8 assists and 3.9 turnovers. This season? 15.3 points (17 shots, 31 percent), 6 assists and 6 turnovers.

For a point guard, that’s not a good look.

As for shots, he should be somewhere between the 9 and 11 range while shooting in the high 40s from the field. Prior to this season, his 8 assists were excellent but they could a tad higher (10?), but his turnovers are atrocious. Westbrook has been so focused on scoring the basketball for so long in his life that for the most part, his decision making is where it should be. Where it needs to be is a whole ‘nother story. He needs to slow the pace down and make smarter passes, take smarter shots, ect. if he plans on manning the ship for the Thunder.

They’re built to play that way.

When trade rumors arose during the lockout that a possible trade between OKC and the Boston Celtics could take place — with Boston trading Rajon Rondo to Oklahoma City while the Celtics received Westbrook in return — most said it was crazy, but the truth is, having Rondo control the Thunder’ offense would take them to a championship a lot quicker than it will with Westbrook.

When the “Argument Heard Around The World” went viral Wednesday night — detailed by The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry — where Westbrook was overheard yelling at Thabo Sefolosha for passing up an open shot and when Durant tried to calm him down, Westbrook snapped at Durant (Something to make a report about, and talk about it for 24 hours on ESPN? No, not at all. It happens, teammates argue all the time. Friends, family, whatever, arguments happen).

24 hours later, ESPN beat writer J.A. Adande wrote an interesting piece on why Westbrook won’t work in OKC for not only the long-run, but financially as well:

The Rose Rule already bumped Durant’s paycheck by an extra $2.5 million a year, and Westbrook could be living in that same $18 million-a-season neighborhood. Depending on what other moves the Thunder make, a huge boost to Westbrook’s salary could put Oklahoma City in luxury tax territory next season and beyond. Starting in 2013-14 the tax will be progressively more punitive than the simple dollar-for-dollar surcharge in place now, and there are additional penalties for repeat tax “offenders.” In addition tax teams have restrictions on their abilities to make trades and sign players to the full mid-level exception.

To sum it up, Adande is stating that by the Thunder locking up Westbrook to a huge deal will ultimately hurt them in the long run when it comes to re-signing other key attributes and going after other appealing talent in free agency. One thing, though, that was really brought to my attention (it’s actually the reason why I’m writing this in the first place) is when J.A. threw out a trade idea that would send Westbrook to Golden State in exchange for Steph Curry (very interesting):

Curry is still on his rookie contract through 2012-13 (when he’ll make $4 million) so he would almost guarantee the Thunder stay below the tax threshold for another year, and he probably won’t be eligible for the Rose Rule pay boost, which would keep his maximum salary 5 percent lower than what Westbrook’s might be when it’s time to re-sign him.

Curry would also give the Thunder more scoring punch from the starting 2-guard spot than they currently have from Sefolosha. From Golden State’s perspective, Westbrook is a better defender than Curry, and that should count a lot for the new-look Warriors. (Believe it or not, Mark Jackson’s squad is among the top 10 defenses for fewest opponent points allowed so far.) And Westbrook is more likely to cause sprained ankles than suffer as many as Curry has.

Interesting enough, Curry was a fan favorite in OKC during the ’09 NBA Draft when the volume shooter was coming out of Davidson (many wanted him over James Harden). Although it’s an intriguing idea, Adande failed to mention one thing: Monta Ellis.

Trading Ellis for Westbrook makes a lot more sense for Golden State than it does by shipping Curry out the door, but it’s almost an identical swap. On paper it seems that Westbrook would help the Warriors out more than Ellis already does, but it’s somewhat misleading.

Golden State would still have the same problems defensively that they do now, and they’d still have the same turnover issues that Ellis provides and the out-of-control shooting outbursts throughout the night.

This what happens when you put a shooter at a facilitators position.

Lets say for a minute that Westbrook does end up in Golden State at some point between this season and the next (this isn’t a rumor, this is just a discussion), what’s the guarantee that he would automatically turn into a facilitator on a team built for running? As for Curry, yes, he’s had issues with his ankle, but at the end of the day he has the higher basketball IQ, and that includes his shooting, passing skills, and the ability to spread the floor substantially better than Russ.

If the Warriors are in a “win now” situation — which I don’t believe they are since they just hired a brand new coach in Mark Jackson — and if the front office believes Curry is going to be an injury-prone player from here on out, I could see them offering this kind of trade. Other than that, no. It doesn’t make enough sense because at this point I’d rather pay Curry $3 million less to run my offense like a point guard should, than pay Westbrook $3 million more to run it like a shooter.

Boston Celtics Close To Adding David West

The Boston Celtics are out here making moves! It all started with constant trade rumors floating around that Boston was working on a trade with New Orleans to bring in Chris Paul for the year — although they had hopes of him signing a long-term deal — which, eventually fell apart after the Lakers hopped aboard with the Houston Rockets to bring Cp3 to L.A., while the Rockets received Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom went to New Orleans (lucky break for Bean-Town if you ask me).

On Friday, Boston worked a deal with the Orlando Magic that would send PF/C Glen “Big Baby” David down south in exchange for Brandon Bass (not sure exactly what either team gets out of this because one is better defender while the other is a better scorer), but I must admit that Davis’ skills depleted after he was given more minutes and Bass is more athletic and little bit tougher in the paint. There were also reports of the Celtics being extremely close to signing All-Star forward David West, which would ultimately land him a 3-year deal worth around $29 million — another undisclosed player — and would send Jermaine O’Neal to the Hornets. With the recent re-signing of Jeff Green (1-year deal), Boston looks to be right up there in competition with the Knicks and Heat (Chicago hasn’t made any kind of moves for another SG).

They now have a bunch of young scorers coming off the bench at nearly every position (fellow Purdue teammates JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore now have big opportunities to earned playing time in a shortened season), but the really need to address the situation at center. A longer off season will certainly help keeps the Celtics older players fresh, especially since they have one of the hardest road schedules in the league, and I’m sure Rondo is going to play lights out after the rumors have diminished and he’s finally gotten over the Kendrick Perkins trade.

#NBABack – Celtics vs. Knicks Season Opener Promo Videos

The lockout is over! #NBABACK! You all already know the schedule – Christmas Day, the Boston Celtics take on the New York Knicks for a rematch of last year’s playoff series. Both team’s took to their video production crews to cut a season opener promo – who did it better? Boston vs New York squares off again. “I Am” > Marvin Gaye. Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett > Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire. BUT, Chris Paul and Melo and Amare? I might even admit that might be the best trio in the league…

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Chris Paul Requests A Trade To The Knicks

Well, as of right now, the “Rondo for Chris Paul” trade has been squashed by Boston’s own Danny Ainge. So what’s next for Paul you ask? According to Yahoo! Sports beat writer Adrian Wojnarowski, Paul’s agent spoke with team officials in New Orleans stating that CP3 wants to join forces with Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire in the Big Apple.

From Yahoo! –

Chris Paul’s agent informed New Orleans officials on Wednesday that his client will not sign a contract extension and wants to be traded to the New York Knicks, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

For now, it remains a rumor. The NBA hasn’t lifted lockout restrictions yet which means Hornets GM Dell Demps can’t have a meeting with Paul just yet to discuss his future with the team and what exactly he wants from the organization to stay. The thing is though, do the Knicks really want to make this trade for a 27-year-old Chris Paul with a bad knee and somewhat injury-prone? No way am I saying that Paul isn’t still a good player because that’s nonsense, but the Knicks really do have to look at the long run here: if they make a trade, they won’t be able to make another move for at least four years.

What they really need is someone like Raymond Felton — who played their before and did quite well — who is a tough guard that can get inside the paint and has a nice outside shot. They could also use a banging big man (someone like Marc Gasol from Memphis) and some more shooters like Nick Young or Jason Richardson. That’s the problem with the league right now; ever since Miami created their “Super Team,” teams are trying to up their arsenal just to keep up with those guys but don’t realize how they could hurt their teams in the long run. I’m sure Paul has reached out to Dwight Howard, who’s name is also on the trading blocks, to somehow team-up with one another (Lakers?).

Once Dec. 9 hits, expect things to shakeup dramatically.

Danny Ainge Squashes Rumors, Rondo’s Staying In Boston

It’s been a little over a week now since the NBA lockout has ended, and already there seems to be more trade rumors floating around than last season when LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony all decided to leave the teams they started their careers with for a better opportunity at winning the ultimate goal: an NBA championship. One of the biggest trade rumors involves two point guards that dislike each other: Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo. There have been trade rumors that involve more players than fingers I have on both hands. But hey, that’s the beauty of sports. Celtics president Danny Ainge has heard enough. In fact, he’s heard so much nonsense over the course of the last two days that he had to squash the rumors himself.

From Sherrod Blakely at CSNNE.com –

“Rondo will be fine,” Ainge told reporters Thursday morning. “Rondo knows that we love him. He knows that we like him. He’s excited to come back and play basketball; that’s my opinion.”

Now I don’t want to speak for anybody but I can almost guarantee you that Rondo doesn’t want to leave Boston — especially for New Orleans — despite the Big Three consisting of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are all on their last leg. Rondo started last season as easily the best PG in the league until he battled injuries and the loss of his best friend and former teammate, Kendrick Perkins. Rondo isn’t as good as an overall player as Paul is but, he’s by far the best facilitator in the game.

For all we know Ainge could only be saying that because he knows CP3 doesn’t want to come to Boston and sign a long-term deal due to the that fact that after this season, they’re going to go through a major makeover. There’s no question that right now Rondo makes this team go. Hell, whenever he has a bad game the Celtics lose. Will he ever develop a consistent jumper? Yes, if he practices enough. But I’m not worried about that and neither should Celtics fans. We all know Rondo’s a hard worker.

Rajon Rondo Gives Rudy Gay An Off The Forehead Alley-Oop

Beantown was the latest city to get the NBA-Lockout-let’s-have-an-All-Star-Game-treatment from Rajon Rondo and his friends. As the players settled into the Harvard gym, Rondo busted a forehead alley-oop pass out of his bag of tricks to a soaring Rudy Gay who finished it off with a nice tomahawk. Hit the jump for some more footage from the night’s festivities.

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Video: Rajon Rondo Throws No-Look-Over-The-Head Alley-Oop

Once this NBA lockout ends, I need my man Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics front office to sign a young high flyer to catch oops from Rondo like this one. This actually went down over the weekend during the State Farm Big Blue All Star Tour and on the recieving end of the no-look-over-the-head alley-oop was Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets rookie.

Rondo, L Fitz, Anna Pierce, Blake & Amare Are Nike Educators

Foot Locker presents: The Nike Educators 2

It’s a new school year, and The Educators are back! Rajon Rondo, Larry Fitzgerald, Anna Pierce, Blake Grfiffin, and Amar’e Stoudemire have returned, bringing lessons on quickness, speed, endurance, elevation and street knowledge. Here’s the first video, set to air later tonight. Enroll in the Foot Locker Advantage Academy at www.footlocker.com/educators

Blake Griffin & Rajon Rondo Talks About The Nike Hyperfuse & Hyperdunk 2011s

It looks like Blake Griffin and Rajon Rondo will be the unofficial endorsers for the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2011s and Nike Hyperdunk 2011s.  Check out what the rising NBA stars had to say about the kicks.

Cover Your Eyes: Rajon Rondos’ Game 3 Elbow Injury

This was not pretty. Shouts to Dwyane Wade for being mad that Rajon Rondo almost took his cookies and then playing dirty with the leg sweep on the Celtics’ point guard. The doctors are saying it’s a dislocated elbow and it’s going to be a pretty major concern moving forward even though Rondo did come back and play after the injury. Adrenaline can only last you so long…

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