Thunder are playing a long-game unseen in recent NBA history: Seven additional first-round picks lined up through -- plus four pick swaps -- via deals for Paul George and Chris Paul. Kawhi Leonard signing with the Clippers was a little surprising, but they were still one of the three remaining finalists to land him this offseason. Nobody thought George would join him in Los Angeles.
Losing George significantly lowered the Thunder's playoff ceiling, which was already a question coming off back-to-back first-round exits since the George trade. Trading Westbrook and embracing a full-scale rebuild was naturally one option Oklahoma City had to seriously consider. Wojnarowski reported July 6 the Thunder were in contact with Westbrook's representatives about possibly moving him elsewhere: " The two sides have 11 years of history together, and both understand that the time has likely come to explore trade possibilities for Westbrook, league sources said.
From a sentimental standpoint, this will be a clear blow for fans in Oklahoma City. The franchise looked to be on the verge of building a dynasty. That was probably going to remain the case if Westbrook had stayed and played out the duration of his career with the Thunder, but this definitively ends an era for the team.
Looking at the situation pragmatically, the upside of losing George is it allowed the Thunder and Westbrook to reach a mutually beneficial decision about their respective futures. That deal made it hard enough to assemble a title contender around Westbrook and George. The Thunder were then still in the luxury tax even after taking George out of the mix. There's certain things you don't do in sports when the game's already over. And I didn't like it. Simple as that.
Westbrook pointed at Bazley and repeatedly yelled, "Don't do that," before teammates came between the two and Westbrook received a technical foul -- his second of the night, resulting in the ejection. It was the final dismal scene in a disaster of a night for the Lakers as they failed to protect a point first-half lead and went 0-for-3 on potential game-tying 3s in the final 30 seconds, losing to a Thunder team that came into the night As much as growing pains could be expected for a Lakers team that is integrating 12 new players and juggling a handful of injuries with LeBron James , Talen Horton-Tucker , Kendrick Nunn , Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington all sidelined, Anthony Davis didn't accept that crutch.
That's just straight on us. This isn't an adjustment game where I feel like it's, 'Oh, we're still learning each other. Not this game.
Two disturbing early-season trends continued for L. And Westbrook turned what was his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform 20 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists into a quadruple-double by turning the ball over 10 times. This after committing nine turnovers against the Memphis Grizzlies just a few days ago. It's my fault. It's on me. Mixing correlation with causation is dangerous business but there are only so many times the team can fail with Westbrook at its centre before you start wondering: is it even possible for Westbrook to win a title?
At the dawn of the season, two superteams were formed with a single agenda: to defeat the Golden State Warriors.
As the two Western Conference giants meet on Tuesday though, they remain more a study in contrast than the Thunder would care to admit. The Rockets are at the top of the league and could very well be the team to dethrone the Warriors.
The Thunder would stun most people if they even made the Conference Finals. The difference — as is almost always the case when the Thunder are involved — is Russell Westbrook. Westbrook, forever the antagonist. A teammate so good that everyone who plays with him becomes better only after they leave his team though.
Now in his tenth season in the league, Westbrook has already ensured that his name will always be part of NBA folklore. Ever since the Thunder then the Seattle Supersonics drafted Westbrook fourth overall in the draft, it seemed that he was destined to win an NBA title long before it was all said and done.
A talented scorer in his own right, Westbrook was taking his place alongside one of the purest shooters in the game in Kevin Durant. And when Harden joined the team a year later, it seemed that a dynasty was in the offing.
Eight seasons together did not yield a title though and in , Durant left for the Warriors. Westbrook then put together the regular season of a lifetime but went out in the first round of playoffs.
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