I don't get it. I don't get it at all. The contracts are the same length and for the same amounts. The 1st is lottery protected. Whoop-de-do. Wall is two years younger, but hasn't played in two years and had one of the worst injuries an athlete can have. An injury he got at home! How is that even possible? I was against getting Westbrook, agreeing with @Clutch at the time that it was a terrible move. A vastly worse move when the cost in picks and pick swaps became clear. Yet at least we know Westbrook can play. We don't know **** about what Wall is capable of. Why didn't we keep Westbrook, give him a chance to show he can produce at a high level after his awful playoffs in the Bubble, hope he can play at a level similar to how he was playing before the Plague, and shop him around then? What did we have to lose? Unless we're unbelievably lucky and Wall plays fantastically well, for John Wall, this was an inexplicable move. An unnecessary move. A pretty ****ing stupid move, in my opinion.
I tried to like Russ but those turnovers in the playoffs were to much.Glad I don’t have to watch the parade of dumb turnovers and terrible decision making
Wall and Boogie being best friends isn't a good thing. Boogie is cancer and this will just **** over the culture (as if it had any) of the team. Good bye to any professionalism in the locker room
Yes, Wall has a higher basketball IQ, he is a more natural point guard and sees the floor better than Westbrook... Westbrook is less likely to have problems off the floor and has less health concerns. Wall will turn it over, but he also can and does make spectacular plays from a court vision stand point. Wall is also a vastly improved catch and shoot player, especially in the corners. Wall is a vastly better defender. Westbrook is a vastly better scorer and is capable of carrying a larger scoring burden than Wall. I am sure Wizard fans are going to be excited (and should be) and the media like Zach Lowe are going to kiss Westbrook’s ass and say how the Rockets are worse. All I can say is if he is healthy (and he looks great) then he is a better fit for the Rockets than Westbrook.
Great post. Lots of people just wanna bash WB but forget he was injured last year similar to Cp3 before we traded him. I'm just afraid this is another buy high sell low move I mean WB was primed to go out with a bang and unlike last year we got the stretch bigs to accomodate his playstyle. If Stone wanted to trade WB then they shoulda done it mid season, when WB had a chance to increase his value. Wall is a more traditional pg who doesnt need spacers 1-4 to do something but he is also hurt and hasnt even played for 2 years...he is Cousins but with a 40M max contract attached instead of vet min. And he has 4 more years to go, easily the worst contract in the league. Rox should have received a King's ransom to absorb the remainder of his salary instead they got trash, a 2023 protected frp? To add insult to injury Wall and WB are the same age, we cant even use him for a rebuild foundation cuz he is already 30 same as WB. WB is an expiring next year already, if he sucks Wizards can trade him no problem and clear 40M off their books. Prob get an asset in return too. Even if WB tears an achilles and Wall is back 100% just based on value lost and the insane risk and low reward ratio this is easily the worst trade the team has done since I started following the Rockets. Rafael Stone may be a rookie GM but he isnt that dumb to do this trade, I think this is another beggar Dolan move aka the brainchild of Fertitty.
I'll say this. Wall was taking about 15 shots a game in his heyday, RW was taking 20+. If the Rockets are getting 5 additional quality shots per game, that is something...
How is Harden and Wall going to be effective offensively if both of them need the ball in their hands always?
I think there is only one possible reason why we would rush to do a trade like this before the season starts. The trade demands are more serious than we're led to believe. I'm talking about the "i wont suit up for the season" type trade demand.
I'm not asking him to do much. Just pass the ball and hit catch and shoot 3's. I don't need him to be a superstar, just competent at his very specific role. Something Westbrook couldn't do at his best.
Them being best friends means they might be happy, and the locker room might like each other. Westbrook is a cancer, and he wouldn't even show up to camp because he didn't like taking a back seat to Harden. Whining about what might be a bad situation when the alternative is something we KNOW was a bad situation is odd.
