Where is the best place for Russell Westbrook Now?

With OKC trading Paul George to the Clippers everyone is asking the same question: What’s next for Russell Westbrook? It has long been said that Westbrook will never win a championship. In the past he has essentially demanded control of the team on the floor, he stat padded his way to an MVP in the 2016-17 NBA season, and he was criticized for stealing rebounds from his teammates in order to secure his triple double. However, Westbrook is simply not good enough to win a chip as the best player on his team.

Russel Westbrook gives his all on the basketball court. He never shows a lack of emotion or heart when it comes to the game. However, with only 29% shooting from 3 point range and a 42% field goal percentage, all that heart doesn’t matter without success.

With Paul George gone the Thunder are now in a rebuilding faze and the best thing for them to do is send Westbrook to a place where he can contend. The biggest problem for Westbrook is his demand to have the ball in his hands, or at least it used to be.

With Paul George, last season, Westbrook showed a willingness to give up his role as the top dog and let Paul George, the better shooter, take control of the offense and be the scorer. That is what Westbrook has to keep up if he wants to win a title. He can’t pad his stats or demand the ball. He is a solid player and an all-star talent but he can’t win a title all by himself.

So, where is the best place for a player like Westbrook. Teams that would be looking would be teams with cap space, who have another star player, and are looking for that missing piece to put them over the top.

The Heat do not have the cap space but if they could clear some in the future, Westbrook could be a nice addition to their team. Jimmy Butler has been known to get in the face of players who don’t work hard enough. That would never be a problem with a guy like Westbrook. He and Butler have similar personalities and could gel well as teammates in Miami.

If all Westbrook cares about was getting the most money, Atlanta would be a good choice. They have the most Cap space currently and are on the come up as a young team without a real superstar. However, it is doubtful that the Hawks would be willing to deal out their developing young talent for Westbrook, who may not even work well with their system.

Another potential destination for Westbrook is the Boston Celtics. With players like Kemba Walker, Jason Tatum, and Jaylen Brown in the starting line up they are looking like a good team this coming season. They only have 3 players currently in double digits in terms of yearly salary and have some good cap space. While Westbrook does have a big personality he hasn’t had many problems in the locker room, which is good news for Boston after what they dealt with in Kyrie Irving. If Hayward can get his game back the Celtics could have one of the best front courts in basketball.

Less Than 24 Hours Into NBA Free Agency And The League Is On Fire.

So many big free agents with so many options could only have led to a big free agency season this summer. Some big surprises have already changed the NBA and it hasn’t even been a full day yet.

The Nets are the obvious big winners. They have signed Kevin Durant for 4-years, $164M, Kyrie Irving for 4-years, $141M, and DeAndre Jordan. Despite not having KD for the upcoming season due to his achilles injury the Nets still have a very good shot at winning a championship in the next 3 years with these moves. There is even talk of Kyrie and KD taking less than the max so that Jordan can get more money. It seems that these 3 are already acting like teammates and with a great bench to support them we could be looking at the next dynasty.

The Nets also made a big move by trading D’Angelo Russell to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are likely to trade him so we will see where Russell lands. Wherever he ends up will get a very good and upcoming star in this league.

The Warriors also sent Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis will likely buy him out and Iguodala will become a free agent. Whoever lands him will get a good player and a great veteran leader.

The Celtics, Nets, and Hornets engaged in a 3-way sign and trade. The Nets got Kyrie through this but the Celtics ended up signing Kemba Walker for 4-years, $141M, to replace him. This could be a very good move for the Celtics. Kemba will give them a lot of great offense minus the locker room drama that Kyrie was partly responsible for. The Hornets received Terry Rozier, an excellent up and coming point guard who will be good for a young rebuilding Hornets team.

The New Orleans pelicans were also busy adding JJ Redick for 2-years, $26.5M. Redick will add a good veteran presence to a very young and rising Pelicans team. Redick will also give New Orleans some more great shooting.

A very interesting signing was the Detroit Pistons signing Derrick Rose for 2-years, $15M. For years Rose has been a shell of his former self. However, since he dropped 50 against the Jazz last year he has been a solid player for the Timberwolves. The Pistons now have a solid point guard to pair with Blake Griffin and help them finally get into the playoffs.

Miami has made possibly the second biggest move this free agency. The Heat finalized a sign-and-trade with the 76ers for Jimmy Butler. Butler fits perfectly with the Heat. And even though the Heat no longer have Hassan Whiteside, having traded him to Portland, they still have Kelly Olynyk and Meyers Leonard, who they got in the Whiteside trade. Miami has been a rough, hard working team since LeBron left and that is perfect for Butler.

The big losers in all of free agency are the New York Knicks. Before last night, Knicks fans were looking forward to a big free agency. They were potentially looking at getting both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. However, after the Nets beat them to it the Knicks were completely lost. They have gone from being a massive story in free agency to the biggest fail. The biggest player they’ve gotten is Julius Randle who, while he is a solid player, is no Durant or Kyrie. The Knicks can’t seem to catch a break.

Those are just a few 0f the biggest stories in free agency. With not even 24 hours since the beginning of free agency and Kawhi Leonard yet to make his decision, we are still waiting to see what next years NBA will look like. One thing is for sure, the NBA is going to look very different next season.

What Is The Pelicans Best Option In The AD Trade Situation?

The biggest story this off-season is where Anthony Davis will end up. Everyone is talking about where Davis should go. However, everyone seems to be forgetting that Anthony Davis will not be a free agent until after the 2019-2020 NBA season. It is really up to the Pelicans where Anthony Davis goes; or if he goes anywhere. New Orleans has four trade options that could benefit them the most.

The worst option for the Pelicans is trading Anthony Davis to the Knicks. If the rumors are to be believed, New York is one of the likely destinations for Kevin Durant. It is also rumored that Kyrie Irving may leave Boston and possibly go to New York. If that happens then New York would be a desirable destination for AD. However, trading Anthony Davis to the Knicks would be the worst option for New Orleans.

The Knicks can’t offer anything anywhere close to the packages that other teams can. The best offer the Knicks would be able to produce would be Kevin Knox, Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, and the number 3 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Knox and Smith Jr. are good players but the Pelicans already have Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore to fill those spots. DeAndre Jordan is an interesting asset. He would give the Pelicans a solid Center to replace Anthony Davis. Jordan is no where near as good as Davis but he can help the pelicans fill that gap. The number 3 pick in the draft is a great asset and could help New Orleans get Zion Williamson and his duke teammate, RJ Barrett, on the same team. But they could get a much better package from another team that would include more young talent.

A better option for the Pelicans would be trading Anthony Davis to the Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge has been known as an extremely aggressive GM and has made a lot of trades in the past few years and adding AD could give the Celtics the boost they need to win a championship. However, by making this trade they will also give up their future. In order for the Pelicans to even consider giving up Davis, Ainge will have to give up the house. A good trade package for the Celtics to put together would be Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Aaron Baynes, and possibly the number 14 pick in the 2019 NBA draft. This would give New Orleans a formidable starting five in Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Julius Randle, and Aaron Baynes with E’Twaun Moore as a solid scorer coming of the bench. The biggest issue with this trade is on the Celtics side. If Kyrie Irving doesn’t stay in Boston then the Celtics may not want to trade away their future stars. It all depends on if Kyrie stays or not.

Another option, and in my opinion the best option, for New Orleans is to trade Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers need AD, which means they are desperate. They have a limited amount of time with LeBron and they believe that a LeBron and AD pair is the key to championship success. Anything the Pelicans want they are sure to get. This trade will be much like the Boston trade in terms of the Pelicans receiving a lot of good, young talent. The Pelicans would most likely receive Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Lonzo Ball. They may also try to get one of the Lakers big men, like JaVale McGee, to fill the hole that loosing Anthony Davis will leave in the starting line up. But what makes this trade so much more enticing than the Boston trade is the Lakers number 4 pick in the 2019 NBA draft.

While they may not get RJ Barrett with that pick they could get Darius Garland, a guard from Vanderbilt who is a solid scorer and could be a good back up for Jrue Holiday while Garland learns the NBA game. However, nothing is set in stone and RJ Barrett may not be taken in the top 3. With this trade the Pelicans will get several young players with a lot of potential and a good prospect.

New Orleans’s last option is to keep Anthony Davis. This will be difficult because AD has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be in New Orleans and most people doubt he wants to share the spot light with a young rookie. If he did stay then a Zion AD pair could be a big threat to the rest of the league. However, with Davis seemingly intent on leaving New Orleans the Pelicans best option would be to trade AD and get something in return now, rather than keep him for a year and then lose him for nothing in free agency.

The New Orleans Pelicans hold all the cards. They can get just about anything and anyone they want. All they have to do is decide what they want and they have some very good options.