by bryanb » Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:09 pm
Flack wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:17 pm
Also if you were hoping for Houston to do anything next year, both Westbrook and Harden are fighting over who gets to leave first. There will be drama in Houston's future next year, but not a title.
Also, the Thunder lost Chris Paul and Dennis Schroeder, so all the spite-filled jackholes from Seattle can do another happy dance. I read that the Thunder has traded so many players that they currently have 16 first round draft picks spanning the next seven years.
Yeah, I was curious what your take on the Thunder changes would be. From my perspective, they overperformed last season and proved a lot of doubters wrong. Instead of trying to build some momentum and improve on a surprisingly successful formula, they're breaking up the team and dumping a fantastic coach in Billy Donovan. By my math, Chicago is going to pay Donovan the exact same amount as the Thunder were paying per year which means OKC probably wanted to cut his pay. The moves seem to be all about cost cutting. Maybe Covid-19 made that absolutely necessary, but it sucks for the fans and has to be bad for morale. At least the Thunder's future is potentially bright, but draft picks aren't any kind of guarantee of success.
The Pelicans have made some moves as well. I expect them to be much less fun to watch next season since Alvin Gentry was fired (sadly, he's had to settle for an assistant coach position for the Kings), but Stan Van Gundy is a surprising and totally solid replacement. They've traded one of my favorite players, Jrue Holiday, to the Bucks for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and draft picks. I expect the Pelicans to be a better defensive team with Van Gundy at the helm; while Holiday was NO's best defender, Bledsoe and Hill are definitely no slouches on the defensive end and are both good three point shooters as well. I can't say I'm a huge fan of either guy, though, so this is a trade that automatically made me like Milwaukee more and the Pelicans less. I can definitely imagine Van Gundy cutting Lonzo Ball's playing time and leaning on Bledsoe and Hill more.
I wasn't that surprised to hear that Harden and Westbrook want to leave Houston. Harden has all the talent in the world, but his focus has often seemed to me to be wavering. He's consistent in his inconsistency, and I suspect he'll need an Anthony Davis level sidekick to ever get a championship. Honestly, I felt like Houston should have tried to trade him no matter what, but it seems like the decision is out of their hands now. Westbrook has a monster contract that will make it difficult to trade him -- if I were the Rockets GM, I'd focus on getting maximum value for Harden and try to hold on to Westbrook unless a good deal presents itself. He's still a potent offensive option and is a smarter player than he used to be. For all the talk about Westbrook and Harden wanting to be reunited, I actually think Westbrook would leap at the chance to become the Rockets primary ball handler.
[quote=Flack post_id=117101 time=1605849450 user_id=840]
Also if you were hoping for Houston to do anything next year, both Westbrook and Harden are fighting over who gets to leave first. There will be drama in Houston's future next year, but not a title.
Also, the Thunder lost Chris Paul and Dennis Schroeder, so all the spite-filled jackholes from Seattle can do another happy dance. I read that the Thunder has traded so many players that they currently have 16 first round draft picks spanning the next seven years.
[/quote]
Yeah, I was curious what your take on the Thunder changes would be. From my perspective, they overperformed last season and proved a lot of doubters wrong. Instead of trying to build some momentum and improve on a surprisingly successful formula, they're breaking up the team and dumping a fantastic coach in Billy Donovan. By my math, Chicago is going to pay Donovan the exact same amount as the Thunder were paying per year which means OKC probably wanted to cut his pay. The moves seem to be all about cost cutting. Maybe Covid-19 made that absolutely necessary, but it sucks for the fans and has to be bad for morale. At least the Thunder's future is potentially bright, but draft picks aren't any kind of guarantee of success.
The Pelicans have made some moves as well. I expect them to be much less fun to watch next season since Alvin Gentry was fired (sadly, he's had to settle for an assistant coach position for the Kings), but Stan Van Gundy is a surprising and totally solid replacement. They've traded one of my favorite players, Jrue Holiday, to the Bucks for Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and draft picks. I expect the Pelicans to be a better defensive team with Van Gundy at the helm; while Holiday was NO's best defender, Bledsoe and Hill are definitely no slouches on the defensive end and are both good three point shooters as well. I can't say I'm a huge fan of either guy, though, so this is a trade that automatically made me like Milwaukee more and the Pelicans less. I can definitely imagine Van Gundy cutting Lonzo Ball's playing time and leaning on Bledsoe and Hill more.
I wasn't that surprised to hear that Harden and Westbrook want to leave Houston. Harden has all the talent in the world, but his focus has often seemed to me to be wavering. He's consistent in his inconsistency, and I suspect he'll need an Anthony Davis level sidekick to ever get a championship. Honestly, I felt like Houston should have tried to trade him no matter what, but it seems like the decision is out of their hands now. Westbrook has a monster contract that will make it difficult to trade him -- if I were the Rockets GM, I'd focus on getting maximum value for Harden and try to hold on to Westbrook unless a good deal presents itself. He's still a potent offensive option and is a smarter player than he used to be. For all the talk about Westbrook and Harden wanting to be reunited, I actually think Westbrook would leap at the chance to become the Rockets primary ball handler.