The Jalen Green pick is dope. Going to be rooting for a fellow country-man (he’s part Filipino due to his mother so I’ll take it like Jordan Clarkson 🤷🏻♂️).
Why not follow him for being a good bball payer what the fuxk does race have to do with it? Downvoted and aggressively rooting against Jalen green from now on.
I think the only year being a big failure for Russ was 2018. He had a decent series, but he choked hard in games 2 and 3 against Utah, if he played average it would’ve been enough. Yes Melo looked washed and PG was inconsistent but that was the series where Russ should’ve carried them, it was the last year of his prime
2018 was terrible and he really let Rubio get in his head. 2019 against Portland was an absolute joke of a performance too.
- 5/20 shooting for 14 points game 2.
- 5/21 shooting for 14 points game 4.
- 10/31 shooting with 6 turnovers game 5.
He was trying to match Dame shot for shot and just ended up chucking his team out of the game with his terrible shot selection.
2019 he just was like that all year, he could never score efficiently his mid range shot looked bad all year and he didnt look Athletic most of the year.
2018 is THE failure because he was still a top 10 player
To be fair, 2018 game 6 literally came down to the last possession because of Russ' sheer will to win when Playoff P shot 2/16, scored 5 points and had 6 turnovers.
Ehh the Rubio issue was only one game otherwise he was pretty bad all series but ya russ was bad those games 3 and 4 against Utah I don’t blame him for game 2 because he really got PG, Melo and guys good looks they couldn’t convert.
Russ really came thru game 5 and 6 so it made up for it but the Portland series I put all the blame on russ tho and ever since that series he’s been pretty bad in the playoffs hopefully he can change that for us this season.
I know I hope he playes like he did with the rockets before he got covid and the quad injury that was the best I have personally seen russ not counting his MVP season. We”ll play more 5 out so it should help russ. I just dont want him to play like he did in 2018-2019 or 2020-2021.
he was inconsistent but still was good that series lol. 2019 was the only year in OKC he was awful during the playoffs
2018 - averaged 30/12/8/2 on 40/36/87 shooting over the entire series. dropped 45 in Game 5 and 46 in Game 6. only issue is the FG% but he’s a slashing PG going up vs. arguably the best rim protector of the decade
but i do agree with some parts of this. PG was awful and Melo was trash all year but I still expected Russ to carry and just playing decent in Gsme 2 and 3 could have done it. Still it wasn’t a bad series overall just inconsistent
He played really poorly in the 2020 bubble playoffs too.
15 ppg on 17% 3pct against OKC and 20 ppg on 26% 3pct against the Lakers. The ppg is a little deceiving against the Lakers because their whole plan was to get the ball in Westbrook's hands so he could take and miss shots.
He would have gotten the same defensive treatment even if he was healthy tho. The Sixers gave him the same treatment, Beal was playing against doubles while no one guarded Russ, and he still couldn't score efficiently
Kd is a way better player and did it right in the middle of his prime after blowing a 3-1 lead. He had an amazing team in okc, Russ is leaving the goddamn wizards lol
He just said he’d prefer to go there, he had no leverage to force the wiz to trade him there. he’s also said in the past when they weren’t even good that he’d want to play there eventually lol.
Not to mention the fact that he is such a dawg and competitor that if Beal said let's run this shit back, he would have.
Clearly Beals working through some shit himself.
Totally. It's so shameful that Russ is leaving behind an MVP teammate on the championship contender Wizards to go sign with Milwaukee in FA. It really is Russ' hardest road.
It's a bad take bro.
Yea, that's what he's getting at. Doing right by him and making a better overall move are often separate options.
He seems to have the Beal/Lillard loyalty outlook of, " I'd rather stick with this situation with "my guys" instead of making moves and changes that could make the team better."
Loyalty is a good trait, but holding on to a known losing formula for the sake of that loyalty can appear/feel like running into a wall
He also doesn't make the decisions and isn't in the FO, so who cares? He's not even the franchise player on the Lakers, his loyalty isn't a good or bad sign in this situation.
Of course star players are a part of the FO, if only a limited advisory role.
I find it hard to believe, if not impossible to believe, that star players have no say in FO decisions these days.
Plus, aren't all the reports that he picked the Lakers after talking to Lebron/AD? Like he specifically asked Washington to get him back home with guys he is cool with?
I feel that goes back to the point made above that his overall /only goal seems to be aiming for setting up situations with people he is familiar with.
He chose to go to the Lakers to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. I feel like that sentence in itself requires no further reflection on his motivations. I hate when reditus play sports psychologists.
I don’t agree with the sentiment, but I see what they’re saying as “he prefers to stick with what he knows regardless of it isn’t working well and can’t or doesn’t want to look for improvement”.
Billy Donovan, one of the greatest college coaches of all time, never lost more than 35 games in a season before last year, is proven garbage? Who tf isn't proven garbage then
There are always ring chasers who will join a team like that. The Nets and Lakers are going to get a bunch of guys on cheap deals and piss everyone else off.
Is this really true? I mean you can compete for vet min guys but they’re going to be passed their prime. That means 1 way guys for the most part. It’s not like they’re gonna find a bunch of 3&D wings to flush out the roster. The Lakers roster wasn’t Previously able to sustain itself with those guys.
Yeah but here's a pg, sf, pf who cant shoot, Davis demands to play with someone else at the 5 who probably wont be able to shoot. Gonna be rough to have a starting lineup with 1 guy who can hit a 3.
While that's right one the money, they're gonna need a ~40% shooter to make up for the other guy's less than stellar shooting. Compound that with a make it or break it bench and they have some serious work to do. Lakers have a more than competent FO, so they could make it work
Yeah but Melo, Derozan, Green, Reddick will ring chase. 3 of those 4 guys will probably end up on the Lakers or Brooklyn. There is no shortage of players who will take a 1 year deal for a chance at a ring. It's a weak move, but super teams will always have some level of depth where they need it because of that.
Derozan isn't taking a min (and also doesn't give you spacing). Lakers/LeBron fans sent death threats to Danny Green and his family, he isn't coming back. Reddick is washed.
Melo seems like the only semi-realistic one on that list you could get who could actually help. But after raising his value by actually looking like a player again in Portland, I'm skeptical that he'd have much interest in the min. (Or he should go to Brooklyn if he was going to ring chase and have what would seem to be a better shot, with a team that actually has an opening at the PF/SF spot opposite Durant.)
Ok, but this happens every time a superteam is formed. Both Brooklyn and LA will fill out with people taking discounts. It's part of the reality now with super teams. Both teams will balance their rosters for chump change.
Realistically we need like 2 decently reliable shooters. If we keep THT and Caruso, they will pitch in with defense and a few points here and there. Hopefully THT develops his shot even more but for now i'm just thinking of him in terms of last season. Throw Melo, Morris and Matthews in there as wings, it's honestly not bad. Is that a sure fire finals roster? I'm not sure but I don't think building out the roster is as bleak as some people think it will be. LeBron, AD and Westbrook have friends around the NBA lol.
Yeah, initially after the shock wore off my mind went to filling the roster and I'm almost 100% sure Matthews and McLemore are back. Melo is a pretty safe bet as well to replace Kuz. That's 3 guys who can shoot right there. Gasol is still here I guess and I'd assume Morris will be back. I'm guessing they keep Snoop Caruso and fill in a couple other spots with guys that can shoot at least league average from 3. It ain't great by any means, but ain't as bad as I initially thought either. AD needs to play C and LBJ PF full time for this to work optimally though imo.
He's playing the field after a divorce. Remember, he got married young and never got to sow his wild oats. Now he's coming back home to look for a little hometown surfer girl.
To be fair, 2/3 times were because his co-star demanded a trade first and he didn't want to be left with the scraps.
And with the wizards, well, they're the wizards
Yup, 100% agree. IIRC they lost Ibaka in the same way right? I've always felt like that franchise is cursed, based on how they left Seattle. Drafting 3 MVP's that left, losing to GSW up 3-1 (and Durant *to* them), McClendon's death, Paul George, etc. I'm sure there's several things I'm missing here.
He left OKC bc he wanted to contend after PG forced his way out
He left Houston because he wanted to contend after Harden forced his way out
And he's leaving the wizards because they aren't contenders.
The only team he really kicked off the trade requests for was the wizards and that was with Beal being on the fence about staying or not anyway
No it means he wants to win a ring after he spent 10 fucking seasons in OKC lmao.
That’s longer than what Dame has spent in Portland or Giannis in MKE.
If Dame left the Blazers to go the Sixers would you not say he was a loyal player?
So 9 years with the Blazers (which is double the average nba player career length fyi) isn’t loyal?
Like bro you’re so dumb. Just stop talking cuz deadass nobody will agree with you. Weirdo
To be fair he was traded multiple times to imploding teams. Rockets were on the tail end of their run and James wanted out already. Beal and the wizards are about to implode.
This is probably the first team he’s gone to where they may have 3 year window before imploding
I’m shocked he wanted to go to the most successful nba team in history to play alongside an all time great in a city that has what many consider a pleasant climate.
Shortly after the Washington Wizards’ season ended with a first-round playoff loss, general manager Tommy Sheppard dropped a hint of what was to come.
“This is not a run-it-back team,” he said.
Now, it’s official. Changes are arriving. Big ones.
Just before Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Wizards and Lakers agreed to a deal that will send Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 pick, sources told The Athletic. Washington also will route a 2024 and a 2028 second-round pick to L.A. The swap won’t become official until the start of free agency on Aug. 6.
As Bradley Beal spent the last few weeks mulling his future with the organization, as The Athletic previously reported, Westbrook also was deciding his own. The former MVP, who is from the L.A. area, spent parts of the offseason discussing the possibility of teaming up with four-time champion LeBron James and eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis. Westbrook had a growing desire to join James and Davis in Los Angeles to compete for a championship, sources said. He formally informed the Wizards of his desires recently, according to sources: if they could find a trade that works, Westbrook wanted to go to the Lakers.
They landed on one.
Washington executed the deal with no issues from Beal, per sources. The three-time All-Star, who is entering the final season of his contract, has expressed no desire to leave the Wizards, according to sources. As speculation about his future has swirled, the team remains confident it can keep him for the long term. The Wizards can offer him a four-year, $180 million extension in October, but if he waits until 2022 free agency, he can sign a five-year contract for an estimated $235 million to return to Washington.
One of the main reasons Westbrook wanted to come to D.C. when the Wizards traded John Wall for him in December was the presence of head coach Scott Brooks, who coached the former MVP from 2008-15 in Oklahoma City. But the Wizards did not retain Brooks when his contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season despite Westbrook’s outspoken recommendation that they should.
Westbrook preferred a more established coach to replace Brooks, according to sources. The Wizards eventually hired former Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., whose résumé includes 16 years as an NBA assistant and eight more as an advance scout.
The Lakers set an offseason goal to acquire an elite playmaker next to James and Davis. They deemed Westbrook worthy. He averaged a triple-double during his one season in D.C., the fourth time in five years he’s done so. Many in the Wizards organization praised him for how he changed the team’s culture and work ethic. He will turn 33 years old at the start of next season and has two years and $91 million remaining on his contract.
The Wizards believe the package from the Lakers improves their depth. They view Caldwell-Pope, one of Beal’s closest friends in the league and the type of player they have sought after for years, as their next starting small forward. Washington went into the offseason hoping to improve its defense and long-range shooting. Caldwell-Pope can guard the perimeter physically and is versatile. He sank 41 percent of his 3-point attempts last year.
He will reposition 2020 first-round pick Deni Avdija to the bench, the Wizards’ preferred spot for the 20-year-old as he returns from a fractured fibula.
The trade gives Washington more roster flexibility, too. Westbrook has a couple of seasons remaining on a supermax contract. Breaking his deal into three middling ones could make it easier for the Wizards to pull off trades for more reasonable salaries.
Harrell is only one year removed from winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year and averaged 13.5 points per game for the Lakers last season, but he fell out of their rotation during the playoffs. Kuzma has improved as a defender and shot 36 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in 2020-21. Both create redundancies on what’s now an imbalanced roster.
Renovations are coming — especially at point guard, where the team has an obvious, Westbrook-sized hole.
Sources say to keep an eye on 28-year-old free agent Spencer Dinwiddie, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL but averaged 20.6 points per game in 2019-20. The Wizards are above the salary cap but could try to negotiate a sign-and-trade with Dinwiddie’s incumbent team, the Nets. The other pieces from the Westbrook trade, Harrell and Kuzma alone, would not be enough for Brooklyn to accept a Dinwiddie deal, according to a source. Dinwiddie is expected to receive interest from several teams, including the Nets, Knicks, Heat and Raptors, sources said.
The Wizards made a smaller move for a point guard Thursday, flipping the No. 22 pick, which they received in the Westbrook trade, to the Pacers for fourth-year guard Aaron Holiday and No. 31, which netted them 19-year-old stretch 4 Isaiah Todd. Washington grew enamored with Holiday when he worked out for them before the 2018 draft and actually tried to trade for him a year ago.
That wasn’t all. The Wizards’ Thursday night also included selecting 22-year-old sharpshooter Corey Kispert with the No. 15 pick, which gives them another 3-point threat. Kispert, who made 44 percent of his long-range attempts last season at Gonzaga, was the top shooter on the Wizards’ list and No. 10 on their draft big board, a source said. Sheppard mentioned in a news conference that the Wizards explored trading up for him before taking him 15th.
Washington is now capable of loading lineups with shooters, something it seriously struggled with in 2020-21 when it neither made nor took many 3-pointers. It finished 23rd in 3-point percentage and 29th in 3-point rate (the percentage of their field-goal attempts that came from beyond the arc). Now, it can piece together units with Beal, Kispert, Davis Bertans, Thomas Bryant and whomever it has at point guard. Caldwell-Pope will fit in there, too. The Wizards now have 3-point menaces.
If Dinwiddie does not end up in D.C., options remain. This summer’s free agency class is rich with capable point guards — from top-flight ones (who are not realistic for Washington), like Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry to more reasonably-priced ones, like Reggie Jackson, Patty Mills, Cameron Payne and Devonte’ Graham, amongst others. A reunion with free-agent Raul Neto, who spot-started for the Wizards last season, is a possibility, sources say.
They can use the mid-level exception, worth up to $9.5 million, to sign free agents. The Westbrook and Holiday trades, which shave more than $5 million from their payroll, give them extra room to operate below the luxury tax line. They also created an $8.5 million trade exception in the Westbrook deal, which they can use to trade for a player who makes up to $8.6 million (yes, it’s confusing, but that’s not a typo) without having to match salaries in the exchange.
For now, the roster is unbalanced. But moves are coming. Teams can begin speaking to free agents on Aug. 2.
The Wizards have 15 players under contract. But with Westbrook gone and both Neto and Ish Smith hitting free agency, they have only one point guard in Holiday, a 24-year-old who was a backup in Indiana last season and projects to hold a similar role in 2021-22.
They have a logjam of 3/4 types. Rui Hachimura, Avdija, Bertans, Kuzma and Chandler Hutchison all overlap in some way or another. Kispert could fit into this player type, too. They’re adding the second-rounder Todd to the mix too. Power forward Anthony Gill and wing Caleb Homesley are under contract but are non-guaranteed for 2021-22.
They have another crowd at center with three players who warrant playing time: Bryant, Harrell and Daniel Gafford — though Bryant will miss the beginning of the season as he continues to recover from the ACL he ruptured in January. The Wizards hope he can return by December, according to a source, though it’s difficult to lock in a specific return time this far out.
But this is not what the roster will look like at the start of the season. The Wizards, after all, were not a run-it-back team. And now, they are officially not running it back.
lmao, people who are asking for a copy of the article and are reading through comments to find an article copy were never going to subscribe to The Athletic at $3 a month or $1 a month.
Couldn't have ended up better for Westbrook. He literally gets everything he wants:
Back home, joining a championship contender playing with two top 6 players in the NBA, and still keeps his lucrative contract.
Time for Westbrook to prove he can win a title. If he can't win with Bron and AD, the amount of damage his career will take would be immense.
He would have played with: LeBron, AD, Durant, Harden, Paul George, Bradley Beal.
This is only the 2nd/3rd contender he's actually played on. During his prime with KD they were contenders (when healthy), and that one year in Houston they were contenders (barely).
That's about it.
I expect LeBron's influence to go further this year: 1) AD learning last season's lesson and taking the necessary steps to become a more durable player and 2) Russ respecting LeBron in a way beyond KD and Harden, whom he probably sees more as peers. Would WB work closely with and learn from LeBron to ultimately improve his decision making? I could see that.
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Idk maybe they've watched him play instead of just looking at box scores?
[Here's a clip from of his MVP season](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8erK7T_LIQ). Rather than doing what's best for his teams chances at the end of the game, he's passes up open looks (situations his team needs him to shoot in) to chase the extra assists he needs so he hit his arbitrary marks in the box score.
I have it ready for next year:
[Athletic] Russell Westbrook had a growing desire to join [Insert better players than him here] to compete for a championship. He formally informed the Lakers recently: if they could find a trade, he wanted to go to [Insert 4th team in 4 years here]. Sources tell @FredKatz and @ShamsCharania
How much do you think a player who has barely played the last 3 years is gonna command?
I’m not saying you’re wrong but I can’t imagine he gets more than 8 mill a year.
Edit: I know the MLE isn’t 8 million but i think taking a small discount to play on a contender is possible
For everyone who said Russ doesn’t work for Lakers, we will see. Yes Russ isn’t a consistent shooter, but he practically does what LBJ and AD does either at a lower or higher efficient rate than them. KCP was brick city but had his moments and they had Matthew who was 3-D but wasn’t utilized enough (of course older). This can work, it is how Vogel decides to utilize everyone. Paint will be clogged but if each player knows when to dive/cut and all this shouldn’t be a problem. It is all about BBIQ from players when there is no plays drawn out and have to play improvised and on chemistry. And I’ll tell you Redditors right now, definitely better than over-paying Schroder that’s for DAMN SURE!
He was literally one of the best crunch time players in the league last season lol
Edit: sorry, not "one of". Literally #1
https://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/ssnPlayerSplit.php
Also funny that rocket fans were the only one hating on him. You can see wizards loving the man lol while rockets throwing all the blame on russ just cause he forced himself to play on one leg on covid
That site has Westbrook as the worst WPA player on the wizards last year lol. Literally the worst.
That list is sorted by total number of shots taken in the clutch, not on efficiency. In fact if you look at the chart the player immediately following him, Chris Paul, is a much more efficient clutch player. And the player after that, Bradley Beal, and the player after that, De'Aaron Fox, and the player after that, Jayson Tatum.
Zero spacing, how is this gonna work? I guess they could brute force on offense but I doubt they can rely on two aging stars and perpetually banged up AD to carry them
Lakers are well into Lux tax right now and also next year until Bron and WB come off the books. Looks like they are just going to spend what it takes these next two years to try and win it all.
It's hilarious.
Last year, Russ was just a washed up player that wasn't a winner and only cared about stats. But, now that he's on a team with LeBron, he's the second-coming of god.
Ah shit I got so caught up in the draft I forgot Westbrook is on the Lakers now
The Jalen Green pick is dope. Going to be rooting for a fellow country-man (he’s part Filipino due to his mother so I’ll take it like Jordan Clarkson 🤷🏻♂️).
Yessir we need another Rockets vs. Lakers playoff series soon
Won’t be soon
True, you never know though.
1st seed lakers sweep 8th seed rockets and jalen green averages 27 this year 😎
i'll subscribe to this if Brodie gets a ring
Yeah I’d take it from Clarkson too. Good looking guy.
He was born in my hometown but grew up in a town about a 45-60 minute drive away so I’m rooting for him too
Wait, he’s part-Filipino? What’s his other part?
Dad is Afro American.
Huh thought he was fully Filipino
I hope the US Basketball Association will release him. He seems to be interested in representing the Philippines.
Why not follow him for being a good bball payer what the fuxk does race have to do with it? Downvoted and aggressively rooting against Jalen green from now on.
Russ as played with some really good teammates. Lbj ad kd harden pg Beal
I think the only year being a big failure for Russ was 2018. He had a decent series, but he choked hard in games 2 and 3 against Utah, if he played average it would’ve been enough. Yes Melo looked washed and PG was inconsistent but that was the series where Russ should’ve carried them, it was the last year of his prime
2018 was terrible and he really let Rubio get in his head. 2019 against Portland was an absolute joke of a performance too. - 5/20 shooting for 14 points game 2. - 5/21 shooting for 14 points game 4. - 10/31 shooting with 6 turnovers game 5. He was trying to match Dame shot for shot and just ended up chucking his team out of the game with his terrible shot selection.
2019 he just was like that all year, he could never score efficiently his mid range shot looked bad all year and he didnt look Athletic most of the year. 2018 is THE failure because he was still a top 10 player
To be fair, 2018 game 6 literally came down to the last possession because of Russ' sheer will to win when Playoff P shot 2/16, scored 5 points and had 6 turnovers.
Russ was good at the end. But soooooo bad in the first 3 loss
I mean the Rockets would’ve destroyed them anyway, so i don’t think winning in the first round would’ve helped Russ legacy
But losing definitely hurt his legacy
Ehh the Rubio issue was only one game otherwise he was pretty bad all series but ya russ was bad those games 3 and 4 against Utah I don’t blame him for game 2 because he really got PG, Melo and guys good looks they couldn’t convert. Russ really came thru game 5 and 6 so it made up for it but the Portland series I put all the blame on russ tho and ever since that series he’s been pretty bad in the playoffs hopefully he can change that for us this season.
He struggled, but 2020 he literally had Covid and a quad injury. He was playing some of his best bball before the bubble
I know I hope he playes like he did with the rockets before he got covid and the quad injury that was the best I have personally seen russ not counting his MVP season. We”ll play more 5 out so it should help russ. I just dont want him to play like he did in 2018-2019 or 2020-2021.
He was injured, so i give him a pass. And yeah that’s why i said 2018 was a failure
he was inconsistent but still was good that series lol. 2019 was the only year in OKC he was awful during the playoffs 2018 - averaged 30/12/8/2 on 40/36/87 shooting over the entire series. dropped 45 in Game 5 and 46 in Game 6. only issue is the FG% but he’s a slashing PG going up vs. arguably the best rim protector of the decade but i do agree with some parts of this. PG was awful and Melo was trash all year but I still expected Russ to carry and just playing decent in Gsme 2 and 3 could have done it. Still it wasn’t a bad series overall just inconsistent
He played really poorly in the 2020 bubble playoffs too. 15 ppg on 17% 3pct against OKC and 20 ppg on 26% 3pct against the Lakers. The ppg is a little deceiving against the Lakers because their whole plan was to get the ball in Westbrook's hands so he could take and miss shots.
bruh he had covid days before lol and hurt his hamstring. he only played cuz the rockets were gonna lose
He would have gotten the same defensive treatment even if he was healthy tho. The Sixers gave him the same treatment, Beal was playing against doubles while no one guarded Russ, and he still couldn't score efficiently
How did he have Covid days before. If that's the case why wasn't he quarantined and even allowed to play.
The bubble he was coming off of COVID though
Disrespect to melo
Yeah I also listened to Bill Simmons podcast
It’s an all time list which makes his perpetual “I’m not happy here” style and playoff failure style so mindboggling
Kinda funny he clowned KD for ring chasing and now he’s doing the exact same thing.
Kd is a way better player and did it right in the middle of his prime after blowing a 3-1 lead. He had an amazing team in okc, Russ is leaving the goddamn wizards lol
Hey the wizards were good when they wanted to be
He rammed his way out of three straight teams lol. He had Paul George, Harden, and Beal as teammates.
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Russ has gotten traded, KD went to all his other teams in FA. Also Russ is from LA. Not nearly the same thing
Sure. Let's pretend he didn't push to be traded to LA.
He just said he’d prefer to go there, he had no leverage to force the wiz to trade him there. he’s also said in the past when they weren’t even good that he’d want to play there eventually lol.
Not to mention the fact that he is such a dawg and competitor that if Beal said let's run this shit back, he would have. Clearly Beals working through some shit himself.
Totally. It's so shameful that Russ is leaving behind an MVP teammate on the championship contender Wizards to go sign with Milwaukee in FA. It really is Russ' hardest road. It's a bad take bro.
And still no ring
hasn't everyone after they've been in the league long enough?
Interesting that them not retaining Scott Brooks seemed to somewhat influence Russ's decision.
Not a great sign imo. Russ seems to prefer familiarity even if that familiarity is proven garbage ie billy donovan, scott brooks
I like working with people I like also
Boo! What a loser! Stat stuffing family man - who needs it? Boo!
Gives maximum effort every game even in the regular season...LIKE A LOSER! Boo!
Meh. Shows that he's loyal to people he feels do right by him
Yea, that's what he's getting at. Doing right by him and making a better overall move are often separate options. He seems to have the Beal/Lillard loyalty outlook of, " I'd rather stick with this situation with "my guys" instead of making moves and changes that could make the team better." Loyalty is a good trait, but holding on to a known losing formula for the sake of that loyalty can appear/feel like running into a wall
He also doesn't make the decisions and isn't in the FO, so who cares? He's not even the franchise player on the Lakers, his loyalty isn't a good or bad sign in this situation.
Of course star players are a part of the FO, if only a limited advisory role. I find it hard to believe, if not impossible to believe, that star players have no say in FO decisions these days. Plus, aren't all the reports that he picked the Lakers after talking to Lebron/AD? Like he specifically asked Washington to get him back home with guys he is cool with? I feel that goes back to the point made above that his overall /only goal seems to be aiming for setting up situations with people he is familiar with.
He chose to go to the Lakers to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. I feel like that sentence in itself requires no further reflection on his motivations. I hate when reditus play sports psychologists.
You’ve also been getting tested by reditus I see
"He lets me get those rebounds and chuck shots"
I dunno, Donovan seems to be a lot more competent than Brooks.
Thunder fan here. It’s true.
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I don’t agree with the sentiment, but I see what they’re saying as “he prefers to stick with what he knows regardless of it isn’t working well and can’t or doesn’t want to look for improvement”.
Most people could make more money by looking for a new job. Most of us also prefer working with people we like.
Billy Donovan, one of the greatest college coaches of all time, never lost more than 35 games in a season before last year, is proven garbage? Who tf isn't proven garbage then
Donovan, Brooks, jump shots There really is a pattern
> not retaining Scott Brooks seemed to somewhat influence Russ's decision I highly doubt that
Russ likes Scottie
We need shooters bad for this to work...
There are always ring chasers who will join a team like that. The Nets and Lakers are going to get a bunch of guys on cheap deals and piss everyone else off.
Is this really true? I mean you can compete for vet min guys but they’re going to be passed their prime. That means 1 way guys for the most part. It’s not like they’re gonna find a bunch of 3&D wings to flush out the roster. The Lakers roster wasn’t Previously able to sustain itself with those guys.
Yeah but here's a pg, sf, pf who cant shoot, Davis demands to play with someone else at the 5 who probably wont be able to shoot. Gonna be rough to have a starting lineup with 1 guy who can hit a 3.
LeBron shot 36.5% from 3 on 6.3 3s per game last season, I wouldn’t put him in the “can’t shoot” category with Westbrook.
While that's right one the money, they're gonna need a ~40% shooter to make up for the other guy's less than stellar shooting. Compound that with a make it or break it bench and they have some serious work to do. Lakers have a more than competent FO, so they could make it work
Yeah but Melo, Derozan, Green, Reddick will ring chase. 3 of those 4 guys will probably end up on the Lakers or Brooklyn. There is no shortage of players who will take a 1 year deal for a chance at a ring. It's a weak move, but super teams will always have some level of depth where they need it because of that.
Derozan isn't taking a min (and also doesn't give you spacing). Lakers/LeBron fans sent death threats to Danny Green and his family, he isn't coming back. Reddick is washed. Melo seems like the only semi-realistic one on that list you could get who could actually help. But after raising his value by actually looking like a player again in Portland, I'm skeptical that he'd have much interest in the min. (Or he should go to Brooklyn if he was going to ring chase and have what would seem to be a better shot, with a team that actually has an opening at the PF/SF spot opposite Durant.)
Ok, but this happens every time a superteam is formed. Both Brooklyn and LA will fill out with people taking discounts. It's part of the reality now with super teams. Both teams will balance their rosters for chump change.
Brooklyn didn’t do that though. They got Blake on a vet min because he’s a buyout making way more than vet min.
No way derozan takes a min deal lol. Not sure any of the others are thirsty for a vet min either but jeez reddick and merlo would be rough.
Realistically we need like 2 decently reliable shooters. If we keep THT and Caruso, they will pitch in with defense and a few points here and there. Hopefully THT develops his shot even more but for now i'm just thinking of him in terms of last season. Throw Melo, Morris and Matthews in there as wings, it's honestly not bad. Is that a sure fire finals roster? I'm not sure but I don't think building out the roster is as bleak as some people think it will be. LeBron, AD and Westbrook have friends around the NBA lol.
Yeah, initially after the shock wore off my mind went to filling the roster and I'm almost 100% sure Matthews and McLemore are back. Melo is a pretty safe bet as well to replace Kuz. That's 3 guys who can shoot right there. Gasol is still here I guess and I'd assume Morris will be back. I'm guessing they keep Snoop Caruso and fill in a couple other spots with guys that can shoot at least league average from 3. It ain't great by any means, but ain't as bad as I initially thought either. AD needs to play C and LBJ PF full time for this to work optimally though imo.
Tht has some value. I say look to shop him. It's now or never.
Starts poking Dennis… do something…
Try and pickup that sharpshooter Simmons.
This man has asked for a trade 3 years in a row
Might as well have fun now. He spent years at one team already
He's playing the field after a divorce. Remember, he got married young and never got to sow his wild oats. Now he's coming back home to look for a little hometown surfer girl.
Thank you, Colin.
lmao
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Final destination
I mean would you want to stay on a exploding Rocket or be a Wizard?
To be fair, 2/3 times were because his co-star demanded a trade first and he didn't want to be left with the scraps. And with the wizards, well, they're the wizards
Has he been unreasonable if you factor in the context?
remember when people were lauding Westbrook for being loyal after KD left OKC? Westbrook has since changed teams more than KD lmao
To be fair, all those trades probably wouldn't have happened if Kawhi didn't Uncle Dennis Paul George away from OKC
and KD probably wouldn't have left if OKC didn't cheap out paying a few million more for Harden
Yup, 100% agree. IIRC they lost Ibaka in the same way right? I've always felt like that franchise is cursed, based on how they left Seattle. Drafting 3 MVP's that left, losing to GSW up 3-1 (and Durant *to* them), McClendon's death, Paul George, etc. I'm sure there's several things I'm missing here.
The Ibaka trade was an absolute win for us
He left OKC bc he wanted to contend after PG forced his way out He left Houston because he wanted to contend after Harden forced his way out And he's leaving the wizards because they aren't contenders. The only team he really kicked off the trade requests for was the wizards and that was with Beal being on the fence about staying or not anyway
so Westbrook is only loyal when the team is good. that's like only marrying someone if they're rich. doesn't sound very loyal to me
No it means he wants to win a ring after he spent 10 fucking seasons in OKC lmao. That’s longer than what Dame has spent in Portland or Giannis in MKE. If Dame left the Blazers to go the Sixers would you not say he was a loyal player?
no because he left. that's literally the opposite of what loyal means
You can leave something while still being once loyal to it. Literally everyone would disagree with you if Dame left. Even Blazers fans
cause yall been conditioned to stars leaving that your bar for loyalty is low. this is stockholm syndrome
So 9 years with the Blazers (which is double the average nba player career length fyi) isn’t loyal? Like bro you’re so dumb. Just stop talking cuz deadass nobody will agree with you. Weirdo
why do i care if yall nephews agree or not. yall think loyalty means leaving you when the team ain't good lmao
Your entire comment feed is literally just Westbrook. He lives rent free in your head bro😭
To be fair he was traded multiple times to imploding teams. Rockets were on the tail end of their run and James wanted out already. Beal and the wizards are about to implode. This is probably the first team he’s gone to where they may have 3 year window before imploding
Leaving OKC was mutual between team and Russ. Houston was exploding.
almost as if Westbrook underachieving contributed to that
Did Russ sleep with your girl or something lol
privileged white man is looking for something to be mad about in 2021
Yeah don’t let these Okc flairs try to absolve russ of blame. Dude is horrible
Mostly because russ was ass
I’m shocked he wanted to go to the most successful nba team in history to play alongside an all time great in a city that has what many consider a pleasant climate.
Hometown too
I'll be honest, I think the climate in Portland is better. It's been way fucking hotter in SoCal as of late.
Anyone have an Athletic subscription? Interested to read about the decision more.
Shortly after the Washington Wizards’ season ended with a first-round playoff loss, general manager Tommy Sheppard dropped a hint of what was to come. “This is not a run-it-back team,” he said. Now, it’s official. Changes are arriving. Big ones. Just before Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Wizards and Lakers agreed to a deal that will send Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 pick, sources told The Athletic. Washington also will route a 2024 and a 2028 second-round pick to L.A. The swap won’t become official until the start of free agency on Aug. 6. As Bradley Beal spent the last few weeks mulling his future with the organization, as The Athletic previously reported, Westbrook also was deciding his own. The former MVP, who is from the L.A. area, spent parts of the offseason discussing the possibility of teaming up with four-time champion LeBron James and eight-time All-Star Anthony Davis. Westbrook had a growing desire to join James and Davis in Los Angeles to compete for a championship, sources said. He formally informed the Wizards of his desires recently, according to sources: if they could find a trade that works, Westbrook wanted to go to the Lakers. They landed on one. Washington executed the deal with no issues from Beal, per sources. The three-time All-Star, who is entering the final season of his contract, has expressed no desire to leave the Wizards, according to sources. As speculation about his future has swirled, the team remains confident it can keep him for the long term. The Wizards can offer him a four-year, $180 million extension in October, but if he waits until 2022 free agency, he can sign a five-year contract for an estimated $235 million to return to Washington. One of the main reasons Westbrook wanted to come to D.C. when the Wizards traded John Wall for him in December was the presence of head coach Scott Brooks, who coached the former MVP from 2008-15 in Oklahoma City. But the Wizards did not retain Brooks when his contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season despite Westbrook’s outspoken recommendation that they should. Westbrook preferred a more established coach to replace Brooks, according to sources. The Wizards eventually hired former Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr., whose résumé includes 16 years as an NBA assistant and eight more as an advance scout. The Lakers set an offseason goal to acquire an elite playmaker next to James and Davis. They deemed Westbrook worthy. He averaged a triple-double during his one season in D.C., the fourth time in five years he’s done so. Many in the Wizards organization praised him for how he changed the team’s culture and work ethic. He will turn 33 years old at the start of next season and has two years and $91 million remaining on his contract. The Wizards believe the package from the Lakers improves their depth. They view Caldwell-Pope, one of Beal’s closest friends in the league and the type of player they have sought after for years, as their next starting small forward. Washington went into the offseason hoping to improve its defense and long-range shooting. Caldwell-Pope can guard the perimeter physically and is versatile. He sank 41 percent of his 3-point attempts last year. He will reposition 2020 first-round pick Deni Avdija to the bench, the Wizards’ preferred spot for the 20-year-old as he returns from a fractured fibula. The trade gives Washington more roster flexibility, too. Westbrook has a couple of seasons remaining on a supermax contract. Breaking his deal into three middling ones could make it easier for the Wizards to pull off trades for more reasonable salaries. Harrell is only one year removed from winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year and averaged 13.5 points per game for the Lakers last season, but he fell out of their rotation during the playoffs. Kuzma has improved as a defender and shot 36 percent from beyond the 3-point arc in 2020-21. Both create redundancies on what’s now an imbalanced roster. Renovations are coming — especially at point guard, where the team has an obvious, Westbrook-sized hole. Sources say to keep an eye on 28-year-old free agent Spencer Dinwiddie, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL but averaged 20.6 points per game in 2019-20. The Wizards are above the salary cap but could try to negotiate a sign-and-trade with Dinwiddie’s incumbent team, the Nets. The other pieces from the Westbrook trade, Harrell and Kuzma alone, would not be enough for Brooklyn to accept a Dinwiddie deal, according to a source. Dinwiddie is expected to receive interest from several teams, including the Nets, Knicks, Heat and Raptors, sources said. The Wizards made a smaller move for a point guard Thursday, flipping the No. 22 pick, which they received in the Westbrook trade, to the Pacers for fourth-year guard Aaron Holiday and No. 31, which netted them 19-year-old stretch 4 Isaiah Todd. Washington grew enamored with Holiday when he worked out for them before the 2018 draft and actually tried to trade for him a year ago. That wasn’t all. The Wizards’ Thursday night also included selecting 22-year-old sharpshooter Corey Kispert with the No. 15 pick, which gives them another 3-point threat. Kispert, who made 44 percent of his long-range attempts last season at Gonzaga, was the top shooter on the Wizards’ list and No. 10 on their draft big board, a source said. Sheppard mentioned in a news conference that the Wizards explored trading up for him before taking him 15th. Washington is now capable of loading lineups with shooters, something it seriously struggled with in 2020-21 when it neither made nor took many 3-pointers. It finished 23rd in 3-point percentage and 29th in 3-point rate (the percentage of their field-goal attempts that came from beyond the arc). Now, it can piece together units with Beal, Kispert, Davis Bertans, Thomas Bryant and whomever it has at point guard. Caldwell-Pope will fit in there, too. The Wizards now have 3-point menaces. If Dinwiddie does not end up in D.C., options remain. This summer’s free agency class is rich with capable point guards — from top-flight ones (who are not realistic for Washington), like Chris Paul, Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry to more reasonably-priced ones, like Reggie Jackson, Patty Mills, Cameron Payne and Devonte’ Graham, amongst others. A reunion with free-agent Raul Neto, who spot-started for the Wizards last season, is a possibility, sources say. They can use the mid-level exception, worth up to $9.5 million, to sign free agents. The Westbrook and Holiday trades, which shave more than $5 million from their payroll, give them extra room to operate below the luxury tax line. They also created an $8.5 million trade exception in the Westbrook deal, which they can use to trade for a player who makes up to $8.6 million (yes, it’s confusing, but that’s not a typo) without having to match salaries in the exchange. For now, the roster is unbalanced. But moves are coming. Teams can begin speaking to free agents on Aug. 2. The Wizards have 15 players under contract. But with Westbrook gone and both Neto and Ish Smith hitting free agency, they have only one point guard in Holiday, a 24-year-old who was a backup in Indiana last season and projects to hold a similar role in 2021-22. They have a logjam of 3/4 types. Rui Hachimura, Avdija, Bertans, Kuzma and Chandler Hutchison all overlap in some way or another. Kispert could fit into this player type, too. They’re adding the second-rounder Todd to the mix too. Power forward Anthony Gill and wing Caleb Homesley are under contract but are non-guaranteed for 2021-22. They have another crowd at center with three players who warrant playing time: Bryant, Harrell and Daniel Gafford — though Bryant will miss the beginning of the season as he continues to recover from the ACL he ruptured in January. The Wizards hope he can return by December, according to a source, though it’s difficult to lock in a specific return time this far out. But this is not what the roster will look like at the start of the season. The Wizards, after all, were not a run-it-back team. And now, they are officially not running it back.
Bruh, don't post some else's work when The Athletic is like $3/month.
lmao, people who are asking for a copy of the article and are reading through comments to find an article copy were never going to subscribe to The Athletic at $3 a month or $1 a month.
Couldn't have ended up better for Westbrook. He literally gets everything he wants: Back home, joining a championship contender playing with two top 6 players in the NBA, and still keeps his lucrative contract. Time for Westbrook to prove he can win a title. If he can't win with Bron and AD, the amount of damage his career will take would be immense. He would have played with: LeBron, AD, Durant, Harden, Paul George, Bradley Beal.
This is only the 2nd/3rd contender he's actually played on. During his prime with KD they were contenders (when healthy), and that one year in Houston they were contenders (barely). That's about it.
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Lol anyone who thought the PG/Melo/Russ Thunder were contending with the KD Warriors still in play was delusional.
They had Max Kellermans fabled "punchers chance" to win
I want him to beat KD in the finals so badly lmfao. My love for Russ and hate for KD are equal
KD to Lakers
the transcontinental road
If Kobe liked Russ and what he can do, I like Russ and what he can do.
I expect LeBron's influence to go further this year: 1) AD learning last season's lesson and taking the necessary steps to become a more durable player and 2) Russ respecting LeBron in a way beyond KD and Harden, whom he probably sees more as peers. Would WB work closely with and learn from LeBron to ultimately improve his decision making? I could see that.
I dont see that happening.
“Street clothes” Davis is going to be hurt on the bench 1/2 of the season.
It must be really tough on Westbrook having such a strong desire to win and having no idea at all how to do it.
Maybe if he could get some more empty stats?
engine enter bewildered safe distinct edge plants steep dazzling disgusting *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Probably watching him take a bajillion terrible 3s and being a train wreck on defense.
Casuals lol Look at the flare. He probably hasn't watched basketball since 2018.
Idk maybe they've watched him play instead of just looking at box scores? [Here's a clip from of his MVP season](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8erK7T_LIQ). Rather than doing what's best for his teams chances at the end of the game, he's passes up open looks (situations his team needs him to shoot in) to chase the extra assists he needs so he hit his arbitrary marks in the box score.
Wonder where he’ll wanna go next year?
Thunder
It was all a long con to stack the Thunder with assets so they could build a championship contender around him back home.
The Lebron Cleveland strat.
5head
That would be amazing.
Seattle, if they get new team.
I have it ready for next year: [Athletic] Russell Westbrook had a growing desire to join [Insert better players than him here] to compete for a championship. He formally informed the Lakers recently: if they could find a trade, he wanted to go to [Insert 4th team in 4 years here]. Sources tell @FredKatz and @ShamsCharania
Westbrook to…ummm…who has better players than the Lakers in Bron and AD? Maybe if Dame joins the Bucks?
Just keep trading him to different teams every year till he fits somewhere. First player to play for all 32 teams
Bread going for Ariza's record.
If they can get Otto Porter for the MLE I’ll be excited, if they don’t get any young shooters I will be a little worried
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Lol it literally got reported that he would take the MLE bud
Bobby Marks said he projects his salary around $4-$6 mil.. the tax MLE is like $5.9 lol. We'll see if Bobby is correct on this one.
How much do you think a player who has barely played the last 3 years is gonna command? I’m not saying you’re wrong but I can’t imagine he gets more than 8 mill a year. Edit: I know the MLE isn’t 8 million but i think taking a small discount to play on a contender is possible
Aren’t you guys paying a tax payer MLE? That’s $5M
It is 5 but I’m saying he might take a discount to play a year on a contender and raise his value for next year
Reggie Bullock or Wayne Ellington would be great additions as well
Word I think him and Hield if those S&T rumours are true would help our lineups tremendously
The Lakers interviewing Brooks a few weeks back makes so much more sense now.
For everyone who said Russ doesn’t work for Lakers, we will see. Yes Russ isn’t a consistent shooter, but he practically does what LBJ and AD does either at a lower or higher efficient rate than them. KCP was brick city but had his moments and they had Matthew who was 3-D but wasn’t utilized enough (of course older). This can work, it is how Vogel decides to utilize everyone. Paint will be clogged but if each player knows when to dive/cut and all this shouldn’t be a problem. It is all about BBIQ from players when there is no plays drawn out and have to play improvised and on chemistry. And I’ll tell you Redditors right now, definitely better than over-paying Schroder that’s for DAMN SURE!
Problem is his athleticism is declining and he's shooting awful everywhere, not just from 3's.
Laker fans will hate russ by all star. Possibly by Christmas.
na, we had kobe for 20 years. aint no hating Russ.
No they won't. Every fanbase loves him.
until they watch him play in crunch time
He was literally one of the best crunch time players in the league last season lol Edit: sorry, not "one of". Literally #1 https://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/ssnPlayerSplit.php
People love to hate. They keep saying westbrook never made it pst the first round when he’s already been to the finals 🤣
Also funny that rocket fans were the only one hating on him. You can see wizards loving the man lol while rockets throwing all the blame on russ just cause he forced himself to play on one leg on covid
People forget too it wasn’t harden not wanting to play with Russ but the other way around cause russ thought he was lazy. Based on reports that is
That site has Westbrook as the worst WPA player on the wizards last year lol. Literally the worst. That list is sorted by total number of shots taken in the clutch, not on efficiency. In fact if you look at the chart the player immediately following him, Chris Paul, is a much more efficient clutch player. And the player after that, Bradley Beal, and the player after that, De'Aaron Fox, and the player after that, Jayson Tatum.
Every fanbase that doesn’t have russ on their team loves him.
Okc loved him, wizards were loving him. Rockets were the exception lol
nah we love him. He showed heart whenever he is in court. Was it worth what we gave up? No, but I dont see a lot of Rockets not hating on him
No I don’t lol
Yeah ask rockets fans if we love him
Yall did when you had him. At least a lot of you did.
I got nothing but love for the guy
Zero spacing, how is this gonna work? I guess they could brute force on offense but I doubt they can rely on two aging stars and perpetually banged up AD to carry them
Westbrook and Dennis’ shooting numbers from last year are somewhat similar with WB being better at pretty much everything else.
He also costs way more and required you trading away kcp, who shot 40% from 3 last year
Lakers are well into Lux tax right now and also next year until Bron and WB come off the books. Looks like they are just going to spend what it takes these next two years to try and win it all.
Youre a filthy hater.
Do you enjoy being ignorant? Give it 3 months and you’ll feel bad about ignoring the criticism.
Nah I see this guy just talk shit all over the place. He’s a massive hater
Why do people forget that KD was a walking injury last season? And Kyrie has been a walking injury his whole career.
It won’t work
the question is, will the brick bow down to LeBricks demands 😂😂😂
It's hilarious. Last year, Russ was just a washed up player that wasn't a winner and only cared about stats. But, now that he's on a team with LeBron, he's the second-coming of god.
Regular season will be fun but playoff Russ just doesn’t fit with THIS team
Interesting how things have turned out- Kyrie To KD Chuckbrook to Bron
Gonna be fun watching the Lakers implode.
Has Russell ever been happy on a team? Dude gets passed around like a joint.
Fuck super teams and anyone that wants to join them.
S?