Trade got everyone’s sleep fucced up, not just me I see
Man...i always told my people that you cant win with westbrook being the number one guy on your team..now look smh..I'm excited but confused at the same time lol
Muddafuccin Freeboundz... And Masked Up Beard In Da Bubble [19-20 Rockets Season Thread]
Man...i always told my people that you cant win with westbrook being the number one guy on your team..now look smh..I'm excited but confused at the same time lol
Antdrewjosh
All Star
Sixteen days before the Russell Westbrook era ended in Oklahoma City and began anew in Houston, amid all that reported turmoil about the Rockets that so many believed had them all on edge, general manager Daryl Morey and point guard Chris Paul sat for several hours inside the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills discussing their uncertain future.
As Morey recalled that night,when he announced on the red carpet at the NBA awards in Santa Monica that his team was the undeniable favorite in the West and refuted a Yahoo Sports! report that Paul had ever asked for a trade, they explored the possibilities for the forthcoming free agency period and prepared to – as their slogan goes – run it back. Even with the looming notion that Paul’s days in Houston might be numbered, and with all the rumblings about friction between him and franchise centerpiece James Harden, Morey was running his team the best way he knows how in this age of player empowerment: By giving the most prominent stars a pivotal role in the planning.
“Yeah, we just spent a couple hours together and it went great,” Morey said to me then. “We talked about what guy we might add in free agency, the offseason, we’ve got some new (assistant) coaches coming in (so) we talked about them. So yeah, it went great.”
You know what scenario it’s safe to assume they didn’t talk about?
The one where Paul was sent packing to the Thunder as a way for the Rockets to keep up with the NBA Joneses.
In this wild NBA summer where the fireworks never stop, the Rockets simply had to make this move to avoid being stuck. The enormous value of having a player like Harden in his prime, if nothing else, demanded it. Add in all the uncomfortable components that came with Paul of late – not the least of which is that he’s coming off the worst season of his career – and it’s not hard to see why they went this way.
Even with that championship doorway wide open because of Golden State’s demise, the Rockets found themselves falling behind. Their grand plan to land Jimmy Butler fell flat when he opted for Miami. The West just kept getting tougher, with Utah loading up even after the Mike Conley trade and Paul George’s decision to force a trade out of Oklahoma City to join Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers meaning that Westbrook was on the market and LA had its second superstar duo.
The Lakers had missed out on Leonard, but added depth to the LeBron James-Anthony Davis tandem in Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, JaVale McGee, Jared Dudley, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Denver had done well, too, retaining the core that won 54 games last season while adding a young forward in Jerami Grant (via trade with Oklahoma City) who gives them a dangerous new wrinkle.
And as Portland coach Terry Stotts reminded me during Las Vegas summer league this week, when he joked that he couldn’t wait to see how little respect his group will be given when our first set of power rankings comes out, let’s not forget about his Trail Blazers that had an identical record to the Rockets last season (53-29) and went to the West Finals for the first time since 1999. With the league’s newest supermax star, Damian Lillard, signing his massive deal, C.J. McCollum still alongside him in that lethal backcourt and a new big man in Hassan Whiteside (via four-team trade with Miami) that helps soften the blow of being without Jusuf Nurkic early on (his gruesome left leg injury suffered in late March is expected to keep him out for the opening months), they’re right there too.
Day by day – heck, hour by hour – Morey’s proclamation about Houston being the best in the West looked more and more off-base.
Yet as was the case when LeBron James recruited Anthony Davis to the Lakers, or when Leonard convinced George to come his way in their return to the Southern California roots, it was the players themselves who put these wheels in motion. Sources say Harden and Westbrook started discussing their reunion shortly after George made up his mind about leaving, with those conversations between the former Thunder co-stars providing the spark that led to this latest blockbuster move.
Only they know how deep those discussions went, or what exactly they entailed. Did they reminisce about those early days, when that young and glorious trio of Kevin Durant, Harden and Westbrook fell short in the 2012 Finals against LeBron James’ Miami Heat before Harden was shipped off to Houston four months later? Did they talk shop about what it’s like to play for Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets coach who – as The Athletic’s Brett Dawson and Michael Lee wrote here – is seen by Westbrook as a reason to be excited about this change of scenery?
In the end, whatever the two old friends said to one another led to this: The Rockets landed a second former MVP who is 3 ½ years younger than Paul while retaining their supporting cast and the Thunder’s rebuild continued at a record pace. Oklahoma City receives first-rounders in 2024 and 2026 – giving them EIGHT first-rounders in the past six days in all after the George trade and Grant-to-Denver swap – as well as pick swaps in 2021 and 2025. They also netted significant savings by swapping Westbrook’s deal for Paul’s – $171 million over four remaining seasons for the former compared to $124 million over three years for the latter (both have player options in the final season).
Paul’s future in Oklahoma City is unclear, with sources saying his agent, Leon Rose, will discuss next steps with general manager Sam Presti soon. The Thunder are open to discussing a trade that might put Paul in a more competitive situation, with Miami believed to be among the possibilities. The Heat’s level of interest, however, remains unclear.
Sources say there were plenty of other iterations of the deal that were explored as well, with three-team options among them and even trades in which Paul would have stayed to play alongside Westbrook and Harden. If they thought it was tough to share the ball before, that unorthodox trio might have left D’Antoni on the basketball therapist’s couch.
Alas, Westbrook gets his new start with the team that sources say was his No. 1 option and the Rockets are now poised to make the sort of run that had begun to look so unlikely – especially if they can keep adding to the roster from here. Priority No. 1? Secure a deal for former Warriors sixth man Andre Iguodala, who was traded by the Warriors to Memphis on June 30 to make room for D’Angelo Russell in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade with Brooklyn.
The Rockets have continued their push to land the 35-year-old via trade, with the Clippers also known to be among the most serious suitors. They are also hoping to add veteran big man Tyson Chandler.
As for D’Antoni and his well-chronicled contract dispute with the Rockets, a source with knowledge of his situation said the extension he has been seeking beyond this final season on his deal is no longer a priority at the moment. He’s more focused, it seems, on making the most of this dynamic challenge.
And why not?
In the matter of a few weeks, the Rockets went from having the red carpet pulled out from underneath them to daring the Red Nation to dream again.
(Top Photo: Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
As Morey recalled that night,when he announced on the red carpet at the NBA awards in Santa Monica that his team was the undeniable favorite in the West and refuted a Yahoo Sports! report that Paul had ever asked for a trade, they explored the possibilities for the forthcoming free agency period and prepared to – as their slogan goes – run it back. Even with the looming notion that Paul’s days in Houston might be numbered, and with all the rumblings about friction between him and franchise centerpiece James Harden, Morey was running his team the best way he knows how in this age of player empowerment: By giving the most prominent stars a pivotal role in the planning.
“Yeah, we just spent a couple hours together and it went great,” Morey said to me then. “We talked about what guy we might add in free agency, the offseason, we’ve got some new (assistant) coaches coming in (so) we talked about them. So yeah, it went great.”
You know what scenario it’s safe to assume they didn’t talk about?
The one where Paul was sent packing to the Thunder as a way for the Rockets to keep up with the NBA Joneses.
In this wild NBA summer where the fireworks never stop, the Rockets simply had to make this move to avoid being stuck. The enormous value of having a player like Harden in his prime, if nothing else, demanded it. Add in all the uncomfortable components that came with Paul of late – not the least of which is that he’s coming off the worst season of his career – and it’s not hard to see why they went this way.
Even with that championship doorway wide open because of Golden State’s demise, the Rockets found themselves falling behind. Their grand plan to land Jimmy Butler fell flat when he opted for Miami. The West just kept getting tougher, with Utah loading up even after the Mike Conley trade and Paul George’s decision to force a trade out of Oklahoma City to join Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers meaning that Westbrook was on the market and LA had its second superstar duo.
The Lakers had missed out on Leonard, but added depth to the LeBron James-Anthony Davis tandem in Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, JaVale McGee, Jared Dudley, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Denver had done well, too, retaining the core that won 54 games last season while adding a young forward in Jerami Grant (via trade with Oklahoma City) who gives them a dangerous new wrinkle.
And as Portland coach Terry Stotts reminded me during Las Vegas summer league this week, when he joked that he couldn’t wait to see how little respect his group will be given when our first set of power rankings comes out, let’s not forget about his Trail Blazers that had an identical record to the Rockets last season (53-29) and went to the West Finals for the first time since 1999. With the league’s newest supermax star, Damian Lillard, signing his massive deal, C.J. McCollum still alongside him in that lethal backcourt and a new big man in Hassan Whiteside (via four-team trade with Miami) that helps soften the blow of being without Jusuf Nurkic early on (his gruesome left leg injury suffered in late March is expected to keep him out for the opening months), they’re right there too.
Day by day – heck, hour by hour – Morey’s proclamation about Houston being the best in the West looked more and more off-base.
Yet as was the case when LeBron James recruited Anthony Davis to the Lakers, or when Leonard convinced George to come his way in their return to the Southern California roots, it was the players themselves who put these wheels in motion. Sources say Harden and Westbrook started discussing their reunion shortly after George made up his mind about leaving, with those conversations between the former Thunder co-stars providing the spark that led to this latest blockbuster move.
Only they know how deep those discussions went, or what exactly they entailed. Did they reminisce about those early days, when that young and glorious trio of Kevin Durant, Harden and Westbrook fell short in the 2012 Finals against LeBron James’ Miami Heat before Harden was shipped off to Houston four months later? Did they talk shop about what it’s like to play for Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets coach who – as The Athletic’s Brett Dawson and Michael Lee wrote here – is seen by Westbrook as a reason to be excited about this change of scenery?
In the end, whatever the two old friends said to one another led to this: The Rockets landed a second former MVP who is 3 ½ years younger than Paul while retaining their supporting cast and the Thunder’s rebuild continued at a record pace. Oklahoma City receives first-rounders in 2024 and 2026 – giving them EIGHT first-rounders in the past six days in all after the George trade and Grant-to-Denver swap – as well as pick swaps in 2021 and 2025. They also netted significant savings by swapping Westbrook’s deal for Paul’s – $171 million over four remaining seasons for the former compared to $124 million over three years for the latter (both have player options in the final season).
Paul’s future in Oklahoma City is unclear, with sources saying his agent, Leon Rose, will discuss next steps with general manager Sam Presti soon. The Thunder are open to discussing a trade that might put Paul in a more competitive situation, with Miami believed to be among the possibilities. The Heat’s level of interest, however, remains unclear.
Sources say there were plenty of other iterations of the deal that were explored as well, with three-team options among them and even trades in which Paul would have stayed to play alongside Westbrook and Harden. If they thought it was tough to share the ball before, that unorthodox trio might have left D’Antoni on the basketball therapist’s couch.
Alas, Westbrook gets his new start with the team that sources say was his No. 1 option and the Rockets are now poised to make the sort of run that had begun to look so unlikely – especially if they can keep adding to the roster from here. Priority No. 1? Secure a deal for former Warriors sixth man Andre Iguodala, who was traded by the Warriors to Memphis on June 30 to make room for D’Angelo Russell in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade with Brooklyn.
The Rockets have continued their push to land the 35-year-old via trade, with the Clippers also known to be among the most serious suitors. They are also hoping to add veteran big man Tyson Chandler.
As for D’Antoni and his well-chronicled contract dispute with the Rockets, a source with knowledge of his situation said the extension he has been seeking beyond this final season on his deal is no longer a priority at the moment. He’s more focused, it seems, on making the most of this dynamic challenge.
And why not?
In the matter of a few weeks, the Rockets went from having the red carpet pulled out from underneath them to daring the Red Nation to dream again.
(Top Photo: Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports)
Hot Red Buns
Life's too short, little baby fall through
Rockets my nikkas! I'm exciteeddddddddddddddddd 
Playaz Eyez
Veteran
Gerald Green still on the squad.
As usual I'm excited for the season and I like the Tyson Chandler pick up we needed some size off the bench. Do the Rockets have enuff room to sign FA's to the vet minimum or are we just about capped out?
I feel sorry for you Houston nikkas 
DonKnock
KPJ Gonna Save Us
We still have part of the MLE, can sign vet mins, and can sign and trade Shumpert for similar salary.
Playaz Eyez
Veteran
I feel sorry for you Houston nikkas
Why? They’re basically bringing back the same team they had since February. They just swapped Paul for Westbrook and replaced Nene with Tyson Chandler. They’ll probably bring back Faried and trade Shumpert. Not sure why people are acting like the Rockets are some bottom feeder team last year. Meanwhile a team that completely missed the playoffs, they suddenly have them in first place just because they got Anthony Davis, Troy Daniels, and Jared Dudley
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And you think Westbrook is better than Paul? D’Phoni will be fired before the all star game
DonKnock
KPJ Gonna Save Us
For the regular season, yes Westbrook will be better than Paul.
1) He won't miss games.
2) He can play higher minutes.
3) He will be able to get easy transition buckets for himself and others.
4)He will help our rebounding, which has been a problem since Ariza left.
5) He will be able to drive into space and finish, Paul was barely able to take Centers to the rim last year. Westbrook should have better spacing than ever before. Harden will be the one with worse spacing, but he played with that for most of his 40 point month last year when Gordon and CP and Capela were all out anyway.
That will be good enough for the regular season, when playoffs come around we will see how it goes.
Fam you’re better than that... You know damn well if the ball ain’t in Russ hands he stands around.. he puts zero pressure on defenses.. His mid range and 3pt shooting is way beyond ass.. his defense is even worse...
He’s a horrible situational player.. I can keep going..
Keep it 300... when Harden was out the game and CP3 was running the show not only did Houston offensive flow better the defense was more cohesive...
The wild shyt is Billy Donovan is a better coach than Mike D’Phoni... and Donovan didn’t hold Russ accountable for shyt.. what you think gonna happen with Russ?
DonKnock
KPJ Gonna Save Us
Billy Donovan is not a better coach than D'Antoni. Billy Donovan wouldn't even make that claim.
They have had no offensive structure for so long even their homer beat reporters have to acknowledge it.
Billy Donovan facing similar questions after Year 4 with Thunder
The Rockets offense may have "flowed" better, but the numbers clearly show that it was better with Harden on the floor than Paul.
The defense was better with Paul, sure. That is going to be the reality of this situation, but we will be able to overwhelm most teams by having Harden or Westbrook on the floor at all times. Which again will be fine for the regular season.
And again, you have to account for the 24 games Paul has missed per year when he has been here.
24 games is A LOT of games, and even if there is a drop off in overall efficiency, have Westbrook there for all the games will make up for that in wins. Last year we lost often against teams that were bad often cause of missed games and effort. Westbrook will be more available than Paul and will give good effort every night.
The problems you are describing will be there in the playoffs, but in the regular season they will not be as much of an issue.
Billy Donovan is not a better coach than D'Antoni. Billy Donovan wouldn't even make that claim.
They have had no offensive structure for so long even their homer beat reporters have to acknowledge it.
Billy Donovan facing similar questions after Year 4 with Thunder
The Rockets offense may have "flowed" better, but the numbers clearly show that it was better with Harden on the floor than Paul.
The defense was better with Paul, sure. That is going to be the reality of this situation, but we will be able to overwhelm most teams by having Harden or Westbrook on the floor at all times. Which again will be fine for the regular season.
And again, you have to account for the 24 games Paul has missed per year when he has been here.
24 games is A LOT of games, and even if there is a drop off in overall efficiency, have Westbrook there for all the games will make up for that in wins. Last year we lost often against teams that were bad often cause of missed games and effort. Westbrook will be more available than Paul and will give good effort every night.
The problems you are describing will be there in the playoffs, but in the regular season they will not be as much of an issue.
Billy teams attempt to play defense...
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