The NBA’s offseason is turning into an endless summer.
Okay, not really. It was just 11 days ago or so that 2019 free agency kicked off with a bunch of moves, followed up by the blockbuster that brought Paul George to the Clippers along with Kawhi Leonard, who signed with Los Angeles. Doesn’t that still feel like an eternity ago?
And it was that George move that signaled the Oklahoma City Thunder were going to trade Russell Westbrook, which they did on Thursday to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and his hefty contract and MORE first-round picks to add to their already-impressive haul.
So who won and lost on Thursday night? Glad you asked.
Winners
Oklahoma City Thunder
Westbrook’s supermax contract was going to be tough to deal no matter what. Whoever traded for him would have to dump a lot of bad contracts back into Sam Presti’s lap. But in this scenario, the Thunder got back Paul to go along with first-rounders. That’s as good of a victory as you’re going to get, especially if the Rockets can’t win a title in the crowded West and eventually break up, giving the Thunder some high picks (remember, there are protections on the selections they can get). Tip of the cap to Presti for getting back terrific value on both Westbrook and George.
Houston Rockets
As my esteemed colleague Andy Nesbitt put it, who cares about whether Westbrook and James Harden can coexist? The Rockets needed to do something after reports that Paul and Harden weren’t seeing eye to eye, and in a situation like this, you grab the superstar and ask questions later. But it will help that Harden and Westbrook were reportedly up for a reunion. Perhaps that means Westbrook will adjust his game to allow Harden to be the primary ball-handler on certain possessions, and Harden won’t mind being off the ball as much. Whatever. Clearly this move helps the Rockets keep up with their Western rivals.
Any rebuilding team that thought of trading for Westbrook
Dealing future assets for a soon-to-be-31-year-old who relies on his athleticism every night with a humongous contract was a bad idea.
NBA fans
Greatest offseason ever? And it might not be over if the Thunder trade Paul.
Losers
Chris Paul
Ugh. Man. One of the best point guards ever to play the game had his best shot to win a ring in the past two seasons (yep, even in the Lob City years) and now he’s either going to play on a Thunder team that will undoubtedly be an also-ran in the West, or he might be headed elsewhere, like Miami.
Face it: Barring a shock, he’s not winning a ring with either team. That’s sad. He’s 34 years old, so the clock is ticking on his career and he’s saddled with a terrible contract for someone that age. Hopefully, he somehow gets one more chance down the road.
The West
It was already ridiculous with (deep breath) the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Blazers and Jazz set to compete for the top spots in the conference. The Rockets were in that mix already, but now, if they figure out how to make Westbrook and Harden work, they’ll be scarier than the Harden-Paul incarnation.
Miami Heat
Pairing Westbrook with Jimmy Butler would have been must-watch, with the two fiery personalities playing together in the much-weaker East. But now, their consolation prize after missing out on Westbrook could be Paul, which isn’t as good. I trust Pat Riley to figure out another way to get rid of some of their big contracts on the books, but this would have netted the best return.
Mike D’Antoni
I kind of think he’s a winner too, but here’s why I’m listing the Rockets coach here: He figured out the best way to maximize Harden (1. Give Harden ball. 2. Sit back and watch) and made some great lineup adjustments in the postseason when the Warriors went small on Houston. But now he’s got to figure out how Harden will work with Westbrook, who is a terrible shooter, which means playing him off the ball probably won’t work. So much for having a summer off.
