WOJ: BREAKING Westbrook to Houston for CP3 & Picks!!!

It won’t be this year but at some point there is a good chance he is bought out. He is saying all the right things and is trying to make the best of being in OKC, but he isn’t going to deal with losing forever. Obviously the Heat are the obvious trade destination but I wouldn’t sleep on a team like NY or even Cleveland.

 

i dont think there is a realistic chance for buyout, he would gave to give up 80 million and it would still clog up the capspace of the team buying him out for years

 

At least he showed up. In contrast with Iggy who didn't even bother.

Imagine if we reached the point when the president of the NBPA refused to play for his team.

I know he has lost some weight but the OKC jersey is so much more slimming than the Rockets. Vast difference.
Our jerseys make our players look fat.

 

Iggy and the team made a *mutual decision* to keep him out. Unnecessary distraction.

 

yeah right.
Poor Memphis.

 

James Harden approves this message.

 

You feel that way with the newer ones too? The last Rockets jersey had thicker shoulder material that wasn't as flattering. The new Rockets jerseys have thinner shoulder material giving the shoulders more breathing room and a more *V* slimming appearance versus the older boxy look.

 

this is promising as per our rebounding

 

the new ones are much much better for sure, but still. imo.

 

so, buy out some of that 15 mil and be po’ no mo ‘...

 

Great cover

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ictions-giannis-big-decision-trades-watch-for

Spoiler

1. Stephen Curry wins the scoring title but not MVP

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo repeats as MVP

3. Rudy Gobert repeats as Defensive Player of the Year

4. Portland trades Hassan Whiteside or Kent Bazemore, plus at least one asset (and additional money if needed) for one of: Kevin Love, Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka

Houston will poke around, because that's what it does, but I'm not sure the Cavs are much interested in Eric Gordon and Clint Capela. ​

5. Bradley Beal signs an extension in Washington

6. Toronto stands pat this season, at least with Kyle Lowry

7. Miami hangs onto Justise Winslow until at least the draft, but flips Goran Dragic's expiring contract in a win-now move

8. Utah and Dallas get All-Stars again

9. Connected: San Antonio's All-Star streak ends

10. Siakam, Aaron Gordon, and Zach LaVine make All-Star debuts

11. Nikola Jokic busts the Wilt Assist Club

12. Denver gets the No. 1 seed in the West

13. Miami finishes third in the East

14. Steven Adams sets the record for biggest year-to-year leap in defensive rebounding rate

15. Also, the Thunder trade Adams and Dennis Schroder

16. Indiana misses the playoffs

17. The eight East playoff teams: Sixers, Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, Heat, Nets, Magic, Bulls

18. Robin Lopez attempts at least 75 3s

19. Indiana trades Turner or Sabonis

20. Dallas makes the playoffs, along with the Clippers, Lakers, Jazz, Nuggets, Rockets, Blazers, and Spurs. Golden State finishes 9th

21. Giannis signs the supermax if the Bucks make the Finals, and doesn't if they don't

22. Chris Paul finishes the season in Oklahoma City

Toronto keeping Lowry through the trade deadline would be a huge boost to Oklahoma City's chances of moving Paul. But what's the deal? I don't see Miami -- Paul's rumored summer suitor -- surrendering anything Sam Presti might care about to light its 2021 cap space on fire. The one wild card: the possibility, slim as it might be, that Paul agrees to decline his $44 million player option for 2021-22 as a condition of any trade. (Stop laughing.)

Is Paul Milwaukee's panic move? Would Antetokounmpo be on board? Milwaukee would have to send out almost exact matching salary -- about $38 million -- to avoid the luxury tax, and that requires trading lots of players. One of them would have to be Eric Bledsoe, and teams are wary of taking on that contract until Bledsoe finds his groove in the postseason.

Detroit? A Paul-Blake Griffin reunion seems ... fraught.

Minnesota seems hungry to win now, and taking on Paul could be their get-out-of-Andrew-Wiggins-jail-for-not-quite-free card. But Wiggins' deal runs only one season longer than Paul's, and I'd be surprised if the Wolves see that swap as being worth their while -- especially if the Thunder demand a draft pick as sweetener.​

Spoiler

23. Milwaukee makes a splashy-ish win-now move

24. Utah extends one or both of Royce O'Neale and Joe Ingles

Bonus prediction: Cedi Osman is in the same situation as O'Neale. The Cavs are probably hesitant to approach that $11.4 million figure, but I could see the two sides settling in the $8 million range.
​

25. Utah trades Dante Exum and Tony Bradley for (maybe) Marcus Morris

26. Minnesota makes at least two trades, including one involving Robert Covington -- if he's healthy

27. Within the next 16 months, there will be trade buzz about Russell Westbrook and/or (gulp) James Harden

There is no reporting behind this. It is purely speculative. The Rockets are going to be really good. I put them in my inner circle of title contenders. Their closing lineup is a beast: Harden, Westbrook, Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, Clint Capela. Daryl Morey will find ways to upgrade this thin roster.

I'm betting on Westbrook bumping up his accuracy on catch-and-shot 3s, reintroducing the concept of "transition offense" in Houston, and slicing up defenses in the spread pick-and-roll. There will be hiccups -- Mike D'Antoni admits Westbrook will stand around a lot when Harden has the ball -- but there are hiccups with almost every star pairing.

But I'm picking the Rockets to fall short of the Finals, and this does not seem like an organization -- and this applies to Tilman Fertitta most of all -- set to react calmly in the face of anything that might be perceived as disappointment.

The Rockets let go much of D'Antoni's staff after another postseason loss to the Warriors; D'Antoni is in the final year of his deal. Some strain damaged the Paul-Harden relationship. What might have happened had the Rockets not found a way to deal Paul for a player Harden likes and respects?

There is just too much noise here -- too much potential for haywire trauma. If the mere prospect of Harden trade buzz strikes you as irrational, please consider, like, everything that has transpired in the NBA in the past five years.

The odds are against any Harden buzz morphing into an actual trade. By all accounts, Harden loves Houston. He wants to win there. It's also really hard to find a team that: is flush with trade assets; in a market Harden might enjoy; boasting a co-star already in the door.

But if Houston falls short of internal hopes, almost anything is possible.​

Spoiler

28. Marvin Bagley III is Sacramento's leading scorer

29. Sacramento trades Nemanja Bjelica and at least other core rotation player

30. Otto Porter Jr. signs a long-term deal in Chicago without ever becoming a real free agent

31. The coach's challenge lasts only one season (at least in this form)

32. The discussion about starting free agency before the draft gets new life.

33. Washington trades CJ Miles for two second-round picks but re-signs Davis Bertans

34. Chicago trades Kris Dunn

35. And the Larry O'B goes to: Clippers over Sixers in seven.

 

Hey guess, I just found the receipt for this transaction, are we still in the return period?

 

LOL, Lowe expects Tilman to spazz. Media is onto you, Tilman!

 

they all lie chris...good thing you did the smart thing and got paid while you could.

 

Cold as balls - I love Kevin Hart.

DD

 

Hart is 5'4" and Paul is listed @ 6'1".. Based on a side by side comparison one does have to ponder how tall and long Paul really is based on the scaling....