Bill Self to the Thunder?

[SoonerBounce13]

They should have kept Harden, traded Westbrook for a true, distributing-type point guard, and went from there.

whoa. you don't trade a top 7 player in the nba. westbrook is better than harden. And westbrook is a very good defensive player....harden not so much.
Also, you act like westbrook isn't a distributer. Sure he is a scorer first but he also averages 7 assists a game.

They need a better guard off the bench as well.

This is true for most of this season. But lamb's future is bright and if reggie jackson can become consistent they are fine on the bench. Next year they will be going after some bench help and a big I assume with the next cap extended and the trade exceptions the have.

For a team that starts 2-3 guys for defensive reasons, they aren't a very good defensive team.

oh please. they are good defensively. They were one of the best in the league before perkins and thabo got hurt.

That is my take. And I suggested a couple of years ago that keeping Westbrook around would be a detriment, long term.

well you were wrong then just as much as you are now.

 

[KBaden145]

They need better structure on offense and drop some roster baggage.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BCSooners]

Stevens isn't leaving Boston.

I was stating I hope Stevens will start the trend for college coaches being successful in the NBA.

 

[WTSooner]

whoa. you don't trade a top 7 player in the nba. westbrook is better than harden. And westbrook is a very good defensive player....harden not so much.
Also, you act like westbrook isn't a distributer. Sure he is a scorer first but he also averages 7 assists a game.

Westbrook is not a top 7 player in the NBA. Suggesting that is simply being a homer. Nobody independent of the Thunder would rank him that high.

He doesn't fit with Durant. KD would be better with a "different" roster construction around him. And some help. Can't put him on the court with Westbrook, Thabo, Perkins, and Serge, and wonder why all the shots he takes are tough. I wonder why?

 

[Romulus]

Name 7 players you'd take before RW and you'll start feeling like an idiot at your fourth or fifth player

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Westbrook is not a top 7 player in the NBA. Suggesting that is simply being a homer. Nobody independent of the Thunder would rank him that high.

He doesn't fit with Durant. KD would be better with a "different" roster construction around him. And some help. Can't put him on the court with Westbrook, Thabo, Perkins, and Serge, and wonder why all the shots he takes are tough. I wonder why?

He's considered top PG behind CP3. saying he is top 7 is not a homer pick. I would bet that everybody has him top 10 and a lot top 7.

He compliments KD fine.

What are your top 7?
You aren't going to include a player that averages 23 ppg, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists? oh and throw in 2 steals a game and a good defensive player? He's probably the best rebounding guard in the league.

I'm not saying the thunder don't need help but that will come. I'm hopeful that they will free up cash this offseason and go after a greg monroe type of player.

 

[Tundrasooner]

While being great players, KD and Westbrook need coaching about as bad as anyone currently playing basketball. They epitomize the reason that the NBA is unwatchable by many many people that like watching basketball.

Of course, like many NBA players, they wouldn't accept coaching, and Self would fail in OKC.

Agree

 

[Romulus]

Scott Brooks is over his head and is way too obvious in the playoffs. Thunder need to make a change while they still have KD and RW together.

 

[allday92]

Westbrook is a top 5 player. And its a consensus among a lot of NBA people. You don't need to be homer to see that.

If OKC kept Harden, they would be even worse on defense. This past season, Westbrook had a better PER rating, averaged more assists and rebounds.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVYJULACcao[/ame]

 

[WTSooner]

Name 7 players you'd take before RW and you'll start feeling like an idiot at your fourth or fifth player

I can promise you the list of players I'd "draft" before Westbrook if I were trying to win a playoff series today, is probably 10-12 strong. Maybe even a bit longer.

But that isn't really the point. The point his how he fits next to the guy that is clearly the teams best player. And I don't think it's a good fit. If you do, more power to you. And his assist numbers don't mean crap. I could average 5 assists per game playing pg next to Durant. All the catch and shoot buckets he gets? lol. Easiest assists in the game.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

I can promise you the list of players I'd "draft" before Westbrook if I were trying to win a playoff series today, is probably 10-12 strong. Maybe even a bit longer.

But that isn't really the point. The point his how he fits next to the guy that is clearly the teams best player. And I don't think it's a good fit. If you do, more power to you. And his assist numbers don't mean crap. I could average 5 assists per game playing pg next to Durant. All the catch and shoot buckets he gets? lol. Easiest assists in the game.

it's not like he assists much to KD. KD creates his own shots. I think 7 apg is impressive for a guy that plays on a team with so many black holes...

let's see that list...

 

[campbest]

I could average 5 assists per game playing pg next to Durant.

Stop.

 

[WTSooner]

it's not like he assists much to KD. KD creates his own shots. I think 7 apg is impressive for a guy that plays on a team with so many black holes...

let's see that list...

Nonsense. Is there a breakdown of who his assists are to? Would love to see that.

As for my list, I'm not going to spend all day here arguing with a bunch of Thunder fans of the tiny differences between Westbrook and 5-10 other guys. It's preference. Westbrook doesn't do it for me. Especially on a team with KD as your best player. Get a pg that doesn't take 28 shots in playoff game, and a SG that can actually shoot. That is how I'd build around KD. For a "top 7 player", I've never seen an NBA player have more absolutely terrible shooting nights than Westbrook. He did that crap last year too. 11 for 28 last night. That is brutal. 10 of 26 in a game in the playoffs last year. Several pitiful games the year before that in the playoffs as well.

Yes, he is capable of going off, but he is also capable of single-handedly shooting your team out of a game or series. And that is a terrible trait for a pg to have, especially one playing next to KD.

The Thunder would be much better with a 1-2 of Rondo/Harden, then they are with Westbrook/Thabo. Look at all the good teams. The teams winning championships. The teams with players like KD. How many of them have a shoot first pg like Westbrook? Miami? Lakers? Boston? None that I can remember. One step further, has a team EVER won an NBA NC with a pg that takes as many shots per game as Westbrook takes? Especially in the postseason? I'm guessing that is a tiny list. Basketball 101, if you have a stud on the wing, you need a distributing pg.

Like I said, I'm not going to debate this with a bunch of Thunder fans. I never said he sucks, I just don't think he's as good as you all make him out to be, and I don't think he's a good fit. My opinion.

 

[sdcloud9]

That is more of a roster management issue, than a coaching issue. Way too many guys on the OKC roster that are offensively challenged, or at the very least, just not very good offensive players.

They should have kept Harden, traded Westbrook for a true, distributing-type point guard, and went from there. They need a better guard off the bench as well. For a team that starts 2-3 guys for defensive reasons, they aren't a very good defensive team. So they don't defend all that well, and they have black holes on offense. Not a good mix. Luckily Durant is THAT good, but it becomes tougher in the playoffs.

That is my take. And I suggested a couple of years ago that keeping Westbrook around would be a detriment, long term.

I agree about the roster issue but Brooks still lacks any creativity offensively other than just letting guys go one on one. Again, the Thunder are very good but the playoffs are different than regular season, imo.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Nonsense. Is there a breakdown of who his assists are to? Would love to see that.

As for my list, I'm not going to spend all day here arguing with a bunch of Thunder fans of the tiny differences between Westbrook and 5-10 other guys. It's preference. Westbrook doesn't do it for me. Especially on a team with KD as your best player. Get a pg that doesn't take 28 shots in playoff game, and a SG that can actually shoot. That is how I'd build around KD. For a "top 7 player", I've never seen an NBA player have more absolutely terrible shooting nights than Westbrook. He did that crap last year too. 11 for 28 last night. That is brutal. 10 of 26 in a game in the playoffs last year. Several pitiful games the year before that in the playoffs as well.

Yes, he is capable of going off, but he is also capable of single-handedly shooting your team out of a game or series. And that is a terrible trait for a pg to have, especially one playing next to KD.

The Thunder would be much better with a 1-2 of Rondo/Harden, then they are with Westbrook/Thabo. Look at all the good teams. The teams winning championships. The teams with players like KD. How many of them have a shoot first pg like Westbrook? Miami? Lakers? Boston? None that I can remember. One step further, has a team EVER won an NBA NC with a pg that takes as many shots per game as Westbrook takes? Especially in the postseason? I'm guessing that is a tiny list. Basketball 101, if you have a stud on the wing, you need a distributing pg.

Like I said, I'm not going to debate this with a bunch of Thunder fans. I never said he sucks, I just don't think he's as good as you all make him out to be, and I don't think he's a good fit. My opinion.

for a guy that doesn't want to debate it you sure are spending a lot of time on the subject.

You could have listed lots of names in that time

 

[bocabull]

While being great players, KD and Westbrook need coaching about as bad as anyone currently playing basketball. They epitomize the reason that the NBA is unwatchable by many many people that like watching basketball.

Of course, like many NBA players, they wouldn't accept coaching, and Self would fail in OKC.

Funny. I remember once when a reporter posed a question about this myth to Don Nelson who laughed and said he made more coaching calls in a single half of an nba game than a college coach does in an entire season. The nba game is 100 times more sophisticated than people realize.

 

[steverocks35]

Oh for crying out loud, all the kvetching about Westbrook is ridiculous. We saw what happened to them last year without him, he's one of the top PGs in the league, I would probably only take Chris Paul or a healthy Derrick Rose over Westbrook. He's a great compliment to Durant and if their complimentary players hadn't been injured and the Spurs hadn't gone on an unconscious run of victories the Thunder would have had the best record in the league again. Trading Russell Westbrook is just crazy talk.

 

[campbest]

The Thunder would be much better with a 1-2 of Rondo/Harden, then they are with Westbrook/Thabo. Look at all the good teams. The teams winning championships. The teams with players like KD. How many of them have a shoot first pg like Westbrook? Miami? Lakers? Boston? None that I can remember. One step further, has a team EVER won an NBA NC with a pg that takes as many shots per game as Westbrook takes? Especially in the postseason? I'm guessing that is a tiny list. Basketball 101, if you have a stud on the wing, you need a distributing pg.

Rondo and Harden giving OKC discounts now?

 

[BCSooners]

The Thunder would be much better with a 1-2 of Rondo/Harden, then they are with Westbrook/Thabo.QUOTE]

Everyone would be better with rondo/harden over westbrook/thabo.

 

[JBaker]

They should have kept Harden, traded Westbrook for a true, distributing-type point guard, and went from there.

Yep. Been saying this for years.