Knickoftime wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

fishmike wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in blown fourth quarter leads last season and Kevin Durant wanted to play within an offense that had better ball movement and easier scoring chances.
Despite a coaching change from Scott Brooks to Billy Donovan, the offense often stalled. Durant and Russell Westbrook were a powerful offensive duo but they didn't always make each other better.

"Ultimately he got frustrated and felt that they had plateaued," said a person with insight into Durant's thought process. "[Donovan] came in, and he still had the same issues that he had with Russ under Scotty. The offense didn't change much. He still had to take a ton of contested shots every game; and that's when he had the ball at all."

The Warriors have been one of the NBA's best passing teams for several seasons and their system is about setting up great shots instead of merely settling for good ones.

"He's never going to have a game in Golden State where Steve Kerr has to say at halftime, 'You guys need to get Kevin the ball,' which happened in OKC," the same person said.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/242700/Kevin-Durant-Thought-Thunder-Plateaued-Was-Frustrated-With-Westbrook-Within-Offense

The article is somewhat flawed because much of the "evidence" is based on people that are supposedly in Durant's circle....but it does validate widely circulated narratives about Westbrook and his myopic play. And clearly some of it must be true since Durant decided to leave a perennial contender that was just one game shy of being NBA Finals favorites.

That being said, is Russell Westbrook really the guy we want to pursue in 2017? If his ego was so out-of-control with a star like Durant, what will happen when he's playing next to inferior stars in Melo and (hopefully) KP? What implications will his game have on KP's growth and development moving forward?

For me, passing on Westbrook is an easy decision if my goal is to build a real winner. I view him as a cancer and empty stats guy in the vein of a suped-up Steve Francis or, to a lesser extent, Stephon Marbury.

I would say you have not viewed him very much. He's a top 5 player in the NBA

He contributes pretty stats...that also contributes to an offense that had some of the least ball movement in the league and some of the poorest execution I've seen down the stretch. The guy is no doubt individually talented but this is a team game and he's no team player.

Thunder beat the Spurs, the ultimate team team.

Again, how bad can it be?

They beat the Spurs by becoming a lights out defensive team that they had never been before. That doesn't involve any way individual talent; that's a team effort.

Knickoftime wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

Knickoftime wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

fishmike wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in blown fourth quarter leads last season and Kevin Durant wanted to play within an offense that had better ball movement and easier scoring chances.
Despite a coaching change from Scott Brooks to Billy Donovan, the offense often stalled. Durant and Russell Westbrook were a powerful offensive duo but they didn't always make each other better.

"Ultimately he got frustrated and felt that they had plateaued," said a person with insight into Durant's thought process. "[Donovan] came in, and he still had the same issues that he had with Russ under Scotty. The offense didn't change much. He still had to take a ton of contested shots every game; and that's when he had the ball at all."

The Warriors have been one of the NBA's best passing teams for several seasons and their system is about setting up great shots instead of merely settling for good ones.

"He's never going to have a game in Golden State where Steve Kerr has to say at halftime, 'You guys need to get Kevin the ball,' which happened in OKC," the same person said.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/242700/Kevin-Durant-Thought-Thunder-Plateaued-Was-Frustrated-With-Westbrook-Within-Offense

The article is somewhat flawed because much of the "evidence" is based on people that are supposedly in Durant's circle....but it does validate widely circulated narratives about Westbrook and his myopic play. And clearly some of it must be true since Durant decided to leave a perennial contender that was just one game shy of being NBA Finals favorites.

That being said, is Russell Westbrook really the guy we want to pursue in 2017? If his ego was so out-of-control with a star like Durant, what will happen when he's playing next to inferior stars in Melo and (hopefully) KP? What implications will his game have on KP's growth and development moving forward?

For me, passing on Westbrook is an easy decision if my goal is to build a real winner. I view him as a cancer and empty stats guy in the vein of a suped-up Steve Francis or, to a lesser extent, Stephon Marbury.

I would say you have not viewed him very much. He's a top 5 player in the NBA

He contributes pretty stats...that also contributes to an offense that had some of the least ball movement in the league and some of the poorest execution I've seen down the stretch. The guy is no doubt individually talented but this is a team game and he's no team player.

Thunder beat the Spurs, the ultimate team team.

Again, how bad can it be?

They beat the Spurs by becoming a lights out defensive team that they had never been before. That doesn't involve any way individual talent; that's a team effort.

So Westbrook didn't contribute to that? He was in fact a net negative? Cancerous to those efforts?

NardDogNation wrote:

Knickoftime wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

fishmike wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

The Oklahoma City Thunder led the NBA in blown fourth quarter leads last season and Kevin Durant wanted to play within an offense that had better ball movement and easier scoring chances.
Despite a coaching change from Scott Brooks to Billy Donovan, the offense often stalled. Durant and Russell Westbrook were a powerful offensive duo but they didn't always make each other better.

"Ultimately he got frustrated and felt that they had plateaued," said a person with insight into Durant's thought process. "[Donovan] came in, and he still had the same issues that he had with Russ under Scotty. The offense didn't change much. He still had to take a ton of contested shots every game; and that's when he had the ball at all."

The Warriors have been one of the NBA's best passing teams for several seasons and their system is about setting up great shots instead of merely settling for good ones.

"He's never going to have a game in Golden State where Steve Kerr has to say at halftime, 'You guys need to get Kevin the ball,' which happened in OKC," the same person said.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/242700/Kevin-Durant-Thought-Thunder-Plateaued-Was-Frustrated-With-Westbrook-Within-Offense

The article is somewhat flawed because much of the "evidence" is based on people that are supposedly in Durant's circle....but it does validate widely circulated narratives about Westbrook and his myopic play. And clearly some of it must be true since Durant decided to leave a perennial contender that was just one game shy of being NBA Finals favorites.

That being said, is Russell Westbrook really the guy we want to pursue in 2017? If his ego was so out-of-control with a star like Durant, what will happen when he's playing next to inferior stars in Melo and (hopefully) KP? What implications will his game have on KP's growth and development moving forward?

For me, passing on Westbrook is an easy decision if my goal is to build a real winner. I view him as a cancer and empty stats guy in the vein of a suped-up Steve Francis or, to a lesser extent, Stephon Marbury.

I would say you have not viewed him very much. He's a top 5 player in the NBA

He contributes pretty stats...that also contributes to an offense that had some of the least ball movement in the league and some of the poorest execution I've seen down the stretch. The guy is no doubt individually talented but this is a team game and he's no team player.

Thunder beat the Spurs, the ultimate team team.

Again, how bad can it be?

They beat the Spurs by becoming a lights out defensive team that they had never been before. That doesn't involve any way individual talent; that's a team effort.

I love how the hater/negativity contingent always takes a great player and compares them to net zero players like Stevie Franchise and Marbles. Like either of them are going to be first ballot HOF.

"'Mr. Inferior to Lebron/KD'-Melo is a cancer."
"At least Marbles was a real New Yorker."

A triple double machine, who's 'fancy stats' just manage to carry the team to the playoffs and the WCF, at many times when KD was either hurt or busy throwing the ball away.

And I guess the lights out defense had nothing to do with Westbrook at all? The other four on the floor just managed to compensate for him only getting 2 steals a game?

And as for CP3...sheesh. Why not save money and just see what it will take to get BDiddy out of the NBDL?