Thunder turmoil, Rajon for Russell anyone?

[StartOrien]

Westbrook for Chris Paul - while slightly challenging financially - makes a lot of sense for both teams.

[greenpride32]

For all the people saying they don't want a shoot first PG, well that's exactly what D-Rose is.  The main difference between D-Rose and Westbrook (and why there is a perception difference as well) is Rose is the best player on his team and Westbrook is 2nd.  Westbrook does shoot a lot obviously since he scores a lot, but he has made some nifty dishes as well.

I doubt OKC would trade Westbrook stragiht up for Rondo, and you're dreaming if you want them to include Ibaka as well. 

The C's need a primary scorer and Rondo will never be that.  I don't know if Westbrook is the best fit but he would supply that extra punch.  None of the big 3 can be the primary scorer any more, though they can bring it on given nights.  And not only is Rondo a below average shooter, he won't even lay it in half the time after he has beaten 2-3 defenders and gotten deep into paint. 

I think the C's are way too easy to defend now which is part of the reason their offense dropped off significantly later in the year (other reason was no Shaq).  Without Shaq, you lay off Rondo and basically play a 4 or 5 man zone (depending on whether you need to guard the center) against the big 3.  I hate to say this, but even a guy like Bibby made Rondo look like a fool by just zoning off him.

[soap07]

  Aside from the fact that Rondo takes and makes plenty of outside shots I'd agree with this.

No, he doesn't.



But besides that, Rondo is marginally better than Westbrook right now and fits this team better. If you are trading Rondo, you have to have it be a substantial upgrade at a position, whether it's Howard or CP3. Trading Rondo for Westbrook is a lateral move at best and not worth it...unless they threw in Ibaka and/or a first.

For all the people saying they don't want a shoot first PG, well that's exactly what D-Rose is.  The main difference between D-Rose and Westbrook (and why there is a perception difference as well) is Rose is the best player on his team and Westbrook is 2nd.  Westbrook does shoot a lot obviously since he scores a lot, but he has made some nifty dishes as well.

Rose is also a much better defender - although he's playing in a much better defensive system, FWIW.

[wiley]

Rose and Westbrook may be similar type players, but Rose is a much better player imo, partly but not entirely due to being a more natural PG.

[Silent Storm]

Can someone explain the logic in suggesting to trade the future of this franchise who has proven himself as a true Celtic through his hustle, toughness, and performance? Not to mention that he has been pretty much leading the league in assists and steals the past few seasons. I understand that he's the only valuable trading chip we have but I really don't think it's an improvement if we move him and bring in another player to take his place. The plan should be to build around Rondo because true point guards are hard to come by these days and it's the most important position on a basketball team.

[BballTim]

can you imagine westbrook taking the last shot while paul pierce is waiting for him to pass the ball? If westbrook does that when he knows he is second to durant, how much more if he knows he's the best of the team (in boston)?

Yes I can imagine that. It is real easy. We see it about every game when Rondo comes down with the shot clock or game clock expiring and chucks up an off balance jumper or misses a wild layup with 3 guys hanging on him. Didn’t matter that Ray was wide open on the wing, or PP was up ahead of him. Very easy to imagine… At least Westbrook can actually shoot!

  I guess if you can imagine Rondo takes shots with three guys hanging on him and Ray and Paul are wide open you can imagine anything.

[greenpride32]

Can someone explain the logic in suggesting to trade the future of this franchise who has proven himself as a true Celtic through his hustle, toughness, and performance? Not to mention that he has been pretty much leading the league in assists and steals the past few seasons. I understand that he's the only valuable trading chip we have but I really don't think it's an improvement if we move him and bring in another player to take his place. The plan should be to build around Rondo because true point guards are hard to come by these days and it's the most important position on a basketball team.

Any trade that improves your team is a positive.  Regarding Rondo he is simply not a "go to" type of player.  If you think his best attribute is his ability to setup other players, you need guys who can finish.  Rondo plays more minutes than the big 3, so he obviously gets time with the second unit.  Did you see any one on the second unit flourish at all with Rondo?  The point is he looks good when he's on the floor with hall of famers.  He doesn't look so good without them. 

Now take a D-Rose or Westbrook and put any garbage around them and they can still do some damage.  Obviously you need to give them good support to win, but my point is Rondo is more of a support piece than a core piece.

[Silent Storm]

Green didn't look good when he was out there with Rondo? When they're in the open court together they can be lethal due to their speed and athleticism. Green wasn't effective off the bench because most of the time we didn't have a pure point guard backing up Rondo and running the offense during the short stints he was in behind Pierce. With Rose and Westbrook you have 2 players who dominate the ball and take a large amount of shots, so it doesn't encourage team play. Basketball will always be a team sport so you need to be strong across the board, not just at one position. Rondo is a way better distributor than Rose or Westbrook. Chris Paul would be a better fit because he has all the abilities that Rondo has and he's a much better offensive player.

[Rufio1986]

Can someone explain the logic in suggesting to trade the future of this franchise who has proven himself as a true Celtic through his hustle, toughness, and performance? Not to mention that he has been pretty much leading the league in assists and steals the past few seasons. I understand that he's the only valuable trading chip we have but I really don't think it's an improvement if we move him and bring in another player to take his place. The plan should be to build around Rondo because true point guards are hard to come by these days and it's the most important position on a basketball team.

TP for that I agree with everything.  The grass is always greener to these people. might as well steal another cliche ya dont know what you got till its gone.

[greenpride32]

Green didn't look good when he was out there with Rondo?

You're only further proving my point; Green is already a talented player.  He's enjoyed success without Rondo (ie he doesn't need Rondo to be effective).

[EJPLAYA]

can you imagine westbrook taking the last shot while paul pierce is waiting for him to pass the ball? If westbrook does that when he knows he is second to durant, how much more if he knows he's the best of the team (in boston)?

Yes I can imagine that. It is real easy. We see it about every game when Rondo comes down with the shot clock or game clock expiring and chucks up an off balance jumper or misses a wild layup with 3 guys hanging on him. Didn’t matter that Ray was wide open on the wing, or PP was up ahead of him. Very easy to imagine… At least Westbrook can actually shoot!

  I guess if you can imagine Rondo takes shots with three guys hanging on him and Ray and Paul are wide open you can imagine anything.

Seriously?! You really are trying to pretend that there aren’t 30-40 examples this season of Rondo with 4-5 seconds on the clock and Rondo running all the way up the floor forcing a last second shot and not even CONSIDERING pushing the ball up the floor to a teammate?! It seems like that happened at least once a game and he RARELY scored. I can recall multiple times the camera showing PP walking off the floor to the bench shaking his head in disgust because he was wide open. If you aren’t willing to admit that happened all year long then you’re just trying to cover up another bad Rondo tendency.

[BballTim]

can you imagine westbrook taking the last shot while paul pierce is waiting for him to pass the ball? If westbrook does that when he knows he is second to durant, how much more if he knows he's the best of the team (in boston)?

Yes I can imagine that. It is real easy. We see it about every game when Rondo comes down with the shot clock or game clock expiring and chucks up an off balance jumper or misses a wild layup with 3 guys hanging on him. Didn’t matter that Ray was wide open on the wing, or PP was up ahead of him. Very easy to imagine… At least Westbrook can actually shoot!

  I guess if you can imagine Rondo takes shots with three guys hanging on him and Ray and Paul are wide open you can imagine anything.

Seriously?! You really are trying to pretend that there aren’t 30-40 examples this season of Rondo with 4-5 seconds on the clock and Rondo running all the way up the floor forcing a last second shot and not even CONSIDERING pushing the ball up the floor to a teammate?! It seems like that happened at least once a game and he RARELY scored. I can recall multiple times the camera showing PP walking off the floor to the bench shaking his head in disgust because he was wide open. If you aren’t willing to admit that happened all year long then you’re just trying to cover up another bad Rondo tendency.

  They didn't run that play 30-40 times this season. No way. And I'd say he scored on roughly a third of the ones I saw. Ray and Paul are never wide open calling for the ball unless there's only a second or so left, not really time for Rondo to pass the ball 20+ feet and have PP catch it and shoot it before the buzzer, at least not if he wants to get off a shot that comes close to the rim. And, yes, I've seen PP walk off the court shaking his head. I generally attribute that to the runs the other teams go on at the end of those quarters, and not because he didn't get to throw up a last second heave.

[Silent Storm]

Green enjoyed success without Rondo when he was in OKC and playing a lot more minutes. In his current reduced role he will need an efficient point guard out there with him in order to be as effective. I've said it before, I think the timing of the trade was the ultimate negative aspect because it did not give this team enough time to acclimate the new additions. Practice time can easily be taken for granted and its value is underrated. Having said all that, I think if Green gets more minutes during the regular season he can be just as effective because he will be settled in by then and he'll be able to showcase his talents within our system. We do need more punch off the bench besides Green, Glen Davis is a goner in my opinion so that leaves West and Green as our 2 main bench contributors.

[Fan from VT]

the C's would have to consider such a deal. Westbrook is pretty amazing. He's been an SG and since coming into the NBA is learning both to be the 2nd option AND how to run a team as a PG. He has made incredible improvement in those areas in his three seasons. He's only 22, and once he hits the very start of his prime (at say 25, with 3 more years of seasoning/learning how to be a floor general and scorer) I think he'll be better than rondo. He also seems more durable, for some reason.

[BballTim]

the C's would have to consider such a deal. Westbrook is pretty amazing. He's been an SG and since coming into the NBA is learning both to be the 2nd option AND how to run a team as a PG. He has made incredible improvement in those areas in his three seasons. He's only 22, and once he hits the very start of his prime (at say 25, with 3 more years of seasoning/learning how to be a floor general and scorer) I think he'll be better than rondo. He also seems more durable, for some reason.

  He probably is a little more durable than Rondo due to being a little bigger. The main thing about trading for a player that you think might be better in 3 years is that KG won't be playing then, so it only works if you think you'll have at least as good a chance next year with the new player.