He's super overrated IMO. He would be a bad fit in our system. He's basically Rondo if Rondo took 20+ shots per night. He's not a bad player by any means, but he's a ball dominating chucker who shoots 29% from three.
Gonna be interesting to see if OKC can even make the playoffs without Durant carrying them.
Pretty simplistic way of looking at things really. I mean Russ averaged 23.5 points, 10.4 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game. For good measure he threw in 2 steals. His TS% was 55.4 and he scored at a rate of 1.3 points per shot with a PER of 27.6. He would have led Boston in points, assists, and steals and would have been second only to Sullinger in rebounds. This from a 6'3" PG.
To acquire him, Thomas would have to be traded (in the trade for Westbrook makes sense to me). I'd happily trade Thomas, 2018 Brooklyn, and some other assets for him. The only real concern is losing Westbrook next summer.
Actually, I think quoting those stats is a pretty simplistic way of looking at things.
Points 23.5 - Sure... but he shot 42% and 29% from three doing it. Negative
Assists: 10.4 - That's nice, but he had the HIGHEST usage rate in the league and his assist-to-turnover ratio wasn't even in the top 25.
Rebounds: 7.8: - Ask me again if I care about my point guard getting a lot of rebounds.
TS%: 55.4%: So, 123rd in the league then? Uhh... ok.
Yes, if we let him have a Rondonian hold over the offense, he'd continue to rack up tons of inflated statistics. But that's not the style of play Brad Stevens runs. We had a Top 5 offense last year because we operate under a pace-and-space offense that puts a priority on shooting. Westbrook isn't a good shooter and he requires the ball to be effective. And his efficiency took a hit when Durant sat out the majority of the 2014-15 season (42% shooting). Furthermore, it's debatable how much he even helps that team win. When he himself missed a large chunk of time in 2013-14, Durant's efficiency wasn't impacted at all. He actually flourished without Westbrook. The team went 26-11 (their typical win pace) and Durant was incredible with the opportunity to control the ball more without Westbrook stinking up the joint. When Durant missed time, the Thunder were a borderline .500 team.
He's an ok player. He's a bad fit here, though. And I suspect he's going to get exposed soon as being overrated. All-star? Sure. Super-star? No.
Topic: Get Westbrook! Or no? / Westbrook needs to be a main target now (Read 9636 times)