Westbrook and Griffin were a topic on Around The Horn today... Plaschke commented that he did not think that Griffin will be shopped by the Clippers as Fester the owner wants them to have one more shot. Paige did not think that Westbrook will be traded either...did not think it makes sense with the free agents they have signed that he can lead. He believed that Presti will ask so much that a team will accommodate him. He'll want equal talent in numbers...
Love Westbrooks game, if we can get him in free agency next year why even try now and give up assets. Not trying to hijack the thread into a Boogie Cousins thread, but could you guys imagine how mean this team would be if we signed Westbrook next summer and traded some young assets (not named Zubac -yes he can play the four in a twin tower offensive system) for Boogie? Volatile group but gritty.
I'm the engineer on the train.. plus I'm throwing coal in the boiler.. needless to say I'm an old train. Much rather have Paul George.
Yeah I think that's crazy talk. KAT looks like he'll be a star, but he's only played one season of professional basketball. Westbrook has been one of the game's best for about five years now and he still has at least 2-3 superstar years left in him. That's about a decade of elite superstar level play.
Why wouldn't Westbrook re-sign there? If they get him they're a clear cut second seed and could possibly challenge Cleveland. Plus he's in the East. At some point LeBron will decline and the C Bags will overtake them. Plus he's playing with an All Star in Horford.
KAT will be a monster. It's hard to take a rookie over one of the top5 guys (Russ) and i get it but damn, kid is special.
We don't know that KAT will ever be a top five player though. He certainly has the potential, but he's a long way away from being a great and dominant and someone like Westbrook is.
He will be a top 5 player in this league. He's a franchise player. I wouldn't give up KAT for Westbrook. No way.
Well I disagree. That's no certainty. The dude has played one year in the league and people are already putting him in Duncan's category which is ridiculous. Yeah he had a spectacular rookie season. I get it. I think he'll be great too, but being a top five player in the league in incredibly difficult to do. Guys like Paul George, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard all great players who aren't considered top five players right now. Will Towns ever be that good or reach an even higher level? Maybe, but I think it's silly to say that after one year. I think it's even sillier to not give him up for Westbrook when the latter is already CLEARLY a top five player and has at least five or six seasons left of prime level superstar play.
5 or 6 seasons of prime superstar level before any decline with his Uber athlete high flyer style of play seems unrealistic, and is completely at risk from one really bad landing.
If I am Minnesota, I don't trade Karl Anthony Towns for anybody and that probably includes LeBron and Curry. If I'm anyone else and those two are on the open market it's definitely more of an argument. Bird in the hand and all that. It would depend on my situation if I'm any other team. If I'm the Cavs, Warriors, Spurs, or any of the 5 or so teams that are one player away from the Conference Finals then I take Westbrook. If I'm anybody else I might take Towns instead.
none of the guys you listed could be traded for towns right now. and i think many of the truly great players have shown it right off the bat. you mention duncan; it was clear he was a hofer after his rookie year. only injuries can derail towns. i actually agree with your general stance on westbrook: he's a superstar and top five nba player, and he should be for the next 4 years or so, assuming no further injuries. but towns is on a rookie contract and already produces at allstar levels (i believe you referred to horfor as an allstar in this thread, and towns is already clearly better). i think, as real said, he's untradeable right now. for anyone.
According to what is KAT a transcendent talent? And according to what same scale isn't Westbrook? Westbrook's 37 triple doubles are already 6th all time (well, okay, since 1983-84). Last season he had nearly as many (18) as Kobe (21) had in his career. That 18 was the most since 83-84.
He was so great that Durant didn't want to stay. Just sayin'...knocks a little of the luster off. Think Shaq just choosing to leave as a free agent next to a peak Kobe when it seemed all was well. I'm curious how KAT's rookie year stacked up all time at similar ages.
He had the fourth most rebounds. Shaq, Drummond, and Dwight had more. He had the sixth highest PER. AD, James, Shaq, Bynum, and Drummond had better. He scored the 8th most points by a 20 year old. LeBron, Shaq, Durant, Wiggins, Brand, Dantley, and Melo scored more. He had the 11th most blocks. Shaq, Josh Smith, AD, Webber, KG, AK, Brook Lopez, T-mac (yup), Biyombo, and Noel had more. He had the 13th best FG%. An awesome season. Clearly one of the best ever by a rookie in his age 20 season. Does that make him transcendent? Bold: because Westbrook was leaving Durant.
I know you're particularly high on Russell, and I am too. Would you trade D'Angelo for Westbrook? You seem to think that D'Angelo is on the path to superstardom after 1 season; and you can certainly have that position, but Towns was better than Russell his rookie year and to think he's definitely not on that same path to superstardom is being bias toward D'Angelo, but I get that position since we're Lakers fans. Additionally, I know it's only bee one year, but I think at the very least barring injury, Towns is a perennial All-Star in this league. He has a very unique skillset and if Thibs has his way with him, and doesn't run him into the ground, Towns is going to be a very good defender. I think very highly of the kid, and it's not just because of his on-court talent; he gets it in between the ears and has a maturity beyond his years. He's going to be special.
