Mega Thread The NBA Bubble Off AND preseason thread (2020)

[jod23]

The trades are fine for Milwaukee. They are never gonna get a Giannis in FA because they are a small market team. This is their first superstar since Kareem and that was nearly 50 years ago. So they gotta do everything they can to keep him, mortgage the future is fine if he stays and if he doesnt, you're gonna suck anyways, so you will just suck for a little bit longer is all.

They gotta do EVERYTHING to keep him.

 

[Son of Skeletor]

OK...

 

[Memphis]

OK...

Just saw that it doesn't make any sense.

Heard the t'wolves going to do a monster trade for Beal so unless the wizards are breaking it up i don't see the point in this trade for either team lol.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

Just saw that it doesn't make any sense.

Heard the t'wolves going to do a monster trade for Beal so unless the wizards are breaking it up i don't see the point in this trade for either team lol.

Wizards have been looking to offload Wall and his monster contract for years

 

[Mazza1234678]

Just saw that it doesn't make any sense.

Heard the t'wolves going to do a monster trade for Beal so unless the wizards are breaking it up i don't see the point in this trade for either team lol.

If they are committed to trading Beal, I could see this happening

No idea why they would bother doing a Westbrook/Wall swap though tbh

 

[jod23]

Sadly for Westbrook, the game literally changed from right beneath his feet. He went from one of the best players in the world to a dead set liability.

His skill set which is immense and would have made him unbelievably valuble in the 80s, 90 and 00's just isnt valuble in todays NBA anymore.

 

[hamG]

Now reading everyone wants out of Houston because the owner is fiercely pro-Trump.

Also Hawks chasing Gordan Hayward if he opts out of his player option.

 

[Bostonian]

Now reading everyone wants out of Houston because the owner is fiercely pro-Trump.

That's hilarious.

The lack of self awareness among the NBA and it's stupid athletes is truly astounding.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

Aside from hopefully letting Hayward go, is Boston planning to actually do something this off-season ?

Come on Danny, get off your ass and do something

 

[Memphis]

Wizards have been looking to offload Wall and his monster contract for years

That's why I'm confused as to why Houston would do this trade.

 

[Richard Cranium]

The trades are fine for Milwaukee. They are never gonna get a Giannis in FA because they are a small market team. This is their first superstar since Kareem and that was nearly 50 years ago. So they gotta do everything they can to keep him, mortgage the future is fine if he stays and if he doesnt, you're gonna suck anyways, so you will just suck for a little bit longer is all.

They gotta do EVERYTHING to keep him.

Montayelly disagree

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

Sadly for Westbrook, the game literally changed from right beneath his feet. He went from one of the best players in the world to a dead set liability.

His skill set which is immense and would have made him unbelievably valuble in the 80s, 90 and 00's just isnt valuble in todays NBA anymore.

That’s low hanging fruit. He was playing quite well before the shutdown.

Averaged 32/8/7 on 53% shooting.

 

[beatnik]

That's hilarious.

The lack of self awareness among the NBA and it's stupid athletes is truly astounding.

I love it when Trumpers call others out for stoopidity

Tillman Fertita is an imposter...billionaire on paper but can’t make team’s rent #deadbeat

 

[hamG]

Sadly for Westbrook, the game literally changed from right beneath his feet. He went from one of the best players in the world to a dead set liability.

His skill set which is immense and would have made him unbelievably valuble in the 80s, 90 and 00's just isnt valuble in todays NBA anymore.

I think he could quite easily elevate his game to be a better and smarter shooter ... but he cbf and no one has called him out on the selfish and dumb things he does. It takes a special anti-talent to be so talented and have the whole league know he can't be part of a 'ship team.

He is entertaining to watch though.

 

[peternorth]

Now reading everyone wants out of Houston because the owner is fiercely pro-Trump.

Also Hawks chasing Gordan Hayward if he opts out of his player option.

I love it when Trumpers call others out for stoopidity

Tillman Fertita is an imposter...billionaire on paper but can’t make team’s rent #deadbeat

Articles suggest Tillman supported the players in walking out of the playoffs, and has criticised trumps opinion that the nba etc are political organisations. I think Tillman has been somewhat measured at reading the landscape

 

[beatnik]

Articles suggest Tillman supported the players in walking out of the playoffs, and has criticised trumps opinion that the nba etc are political organisations. I think Tillman has been somewhat measured at reading the landscape

Yeah, I agree he’s definitely smarter than Donald Sterling

I suspect he hired some PR advisers after the HK ‘fiasco’ who steered him through #BLM without (publicly) exposing himself...but he’s a Trumper and Morey, D’antoni and the players knew it because there’s no PR buffer between them

his book title is probably an insight into what it was like working for The Teet...that’s my take anyway

 

[Warsaw]

That's hilarious.

The lack of self awareness among the NBA and it's stupid athletes is truly astounding.

thank you for your contribution to the NBA board gus

 

[fidstar]

That’s low hanging fruit. He was playing quite well before the shutdown.

Averaged 32/8/7 on 53% shooting.

Excellent reporting.

 

[Bostonian]

I love it when Trumpers call others out for stoopidity

Tillman Fertita is an imposter...billionaire on paper but can’t make team’s rent #deadbeat

I'm not a Trumper. I'm a Ron Swansoner.

I just happen to think that voting for the two people who had the biggest impact on jailing young black men for nothing crimes makes you an utter moron.

Especially if you're a young black man.

 

[jod23]

That’s low hanging fruit. He was playing quite well before the shutdown.

Averaged 32/8/7 on 53% shooting.

Nobody wants him though, that's telling. Whether or not you think he was playing well, the Rockets got worse once he joined them. The game has passed him by.

 

[Memphis]

Montayelly disagree

"Playing on the same level" my guy what are you smoking?

 

[Memphis]

That’s low hanging fruit. He was playing quite well before the shutdown.

Averaged 32/8/7 on 53% shooting.

Individually he's great with stats and all but in terms of winning he has no value.

 

[Scotland]

Westbrook averaged a triple double for 3 seasons for 3 first round playoff exits. Stats schmats.

He shot 43.3% from the field, 31.5% from 3 and 76.6% from the free throw line with 4.9 turnovers a game in getting there. He's fun to watch, but too one dimensional for the modern NBA. Giannis is a B2B MVP and now DPOY and the Raptors and Heat still worked out how to funnel him away from the basket and expose his limitations. And he's 6'11 not 6'3.

To be fair to Westbrook, Houston was always a horrible destination for him. If it didn't work with an unselfish, team oriented point guard in CP3 it was never going to work with Westbrook. He's useless off ball, and Harden doesn't want to play off ball. If he goes to the Knicks and has the ball 40% of the time he'll probably get 30-10-10 again. If he played for a team like Golden State with great shooters it could work, but not as a $40m+ player.

 

[Look2Me4Guidance]

Nobody wants him though, that's telling. Whether or not you think he was playing well, the Rockets got worse once he joined them. The game has passed him by.

The size of his contract is a key point in that. As for the Rockets getting worse, it’s hardly all on him. The game hasn’t passed him by, he’s still close to unstoppable in the open court.

The issue is his lack of willingness to adjust his style to compliment those around him. Be it his own competitiveness/stubbornness it’s always been his knock.

Still more than capable of making valuable contributions, but it‘s the above the shoulders stuff that will dictate if he has any success.

 

[Son of Skeletor]

Westbrook averaged a triple double for 3 seasons for 3 first round playoff exits. Stats schmats.

He shot 43.3% from the field, 31.5% from 3 and 76.6% from the free throw line with 4.9 turnovers a game in getting there. He's fun to watch, but too one dimensional for the modern NBA. Giannis is a B2B MVP and now DPOY and the Raptors and Heat still worked out how to funnel him away from the basket and expose his limitations. And he's 6'11 not 6'3.

To be fair to Westbrook, Houston was always a horrible destination for him. If it didn't work with an unselfish, team oriented point guard in CP3 it was never going to work with Westbrook. He's useless off ball, and Harden doesn't want to play off ball. If he goes to the Knicks and has the ball 40% of the time he'll probably get 30-10-10 again. If he played for a team like Golden State with great shooters it could work, but not as a $40m+ player.

The size of his contract is a key point in that. As for the Rockets getting worse, it’s hardly all on him. The game hasn’t passed him by, he’s still close to unstoppable in the open court.

The issue is his lack of willingness to adjust his style to compliment those around him. Be it his own competitiveness/stubbornness it’s always been his knock.

Still more than capable of making valuable contributions, but it‘s the above the shoulders stuff that will dictate if he has any success.

Yeah, the problem with Westbrook is he needs a very specific team built around him. And the odds of any team trading for him and his contract having those exact pieces is virtually zero.

The comparison with Giannis is apt in some ways. Westbrook really does need a Brook Lopez/Myles Turner type big to clog the lane on defence and get the hell out of the way on offence. He also needs a Klay Thompson/JJ Redick complement at the wing.

The best possible trade scenario I could hypothesise for the Rockets was maybe a trade to Orlando for Fournier, Fultz and Aminu - Westbrook could theoretically play with Vucevic, the Magic could give themselves a chance to escape .500 purgatory, and the Rockets could add a little shooting and defence while unclogging their future cap. But that was before Harden's disaffection became known.

Maybe the Rockets would still do it now purely to give themselves more future flexibility, I dunno. Could probably throw the Hornets in there as well if that's the case, although their roster is the blankest of blank canvasses, and if they go small with pick #3 I struggle to see how Wesbtrook makes any sense.