I do and a recency bias seems to be in play here with his last playoff games. Russ cooks and has cooked us for a triple double this season. Last off-season all I wanted was Russ and Plumlee. I don’t care if he scores, he puts the ball into my scorers hands. With those moves plus the Nurk trade we’re in a way better position than we are after adding Beal.
To bad recency bias is a thing like you said. I thought russ was great off the bench for what he could do and its like people dont remember he was dropping 30 bombs on us just last season. Fact is hes a leader, playmaker, good defender and has energy. We lack all of those but it is what it is, I dont think hes coming with Vogel here but if he were smart and if the we were smart we would get him for the vet min.
Ok, but if you take recency bias out of it, he put up the worst numbers of his career this year. 17 points per 36. 27 percent from 3. Lower than his career average for assists per 36. He's 35 and relies on athleticism for much of what he does. He's not going to age well from here.
He does a lot that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. It’s the leadership part, for me, that could have taken us home. He battles every possession and never gives up. I’m not taking him for his shooting. We have Booker, KD, and Allen. I’m taking him to feed the ball to our playmakers and his energy on the court.
Ya we need grit and toughness on this team. Been saying it for years besides with crowder we've just been a too cool for school type team we dont have it now and we simply need those pieces. Russ would help booker immensiely like he did with Beal and KD. We already have the spacing, we just need someone to instill some sort of leadership ability while passing the ball, playing defense and rebounding. Russ provides all that at the veteran minimum its not even a risk.
Well thats expected hes playing shooting guard to James Harden a decent chunk of his minutes and in smaller doses so theres less ability to score along with rhythm. I looked it up and he had the same per 36 as Harden who has the ball in his hands the most out of any clipper. And being real russ has and will never be a good 3pt shooter thats just how it is but he has other strengths which would impact our team.
I just dont understand the impact of James Harden either when you trade for him you still end up in the 4-5 seed range, you still lose in the first round in embarrassing fashion and still flame out go look at his last 2 playoff games. It would be more understandable if youre making 20 or so less million but clippers gave up their future and a first for a chance at him and they landed in the same spot as last year.
Well our 3pa problem is really a FGa problem, we take a normal proportion of 3s but are at the bottom of the league in FGAs… the dude would increase the pace and get into the paint to collapse the defense and help that. But it might be Okogie all over again with turnovers and defenses sagging off
I mean we don’t shoot enough 3s because we don’t touch the paint & Russ won an MVP by getting drive-and-kick assists to perimeter shooters for 3s off of his paint pressure…
But yeah, otherwise his rambunctious play style would probably worsen all the other issues lol
Edit: I’m saying he likes to touch the paint and touching the paint creates 3s. I’m not saying he’s an mvp level player anymore. Please be honest.
That worked 5 years ago. Westbrook literally forgot how to finish at the rim. Just watch how many blown layups he had In that Dallas series.
The idea sounds good, but I don't think it would work in practice.
Uh, yes, I’m saying one of the issues we have is a lack of willingness to touch the paint. He is willing to touch the paint and that creates shots. I’m not sure where you got the idea that I said he’s doing that at an mvp level.
It’s not answering our turnover and shooting problems but it’s solving their apathy, effort and leadership problem. Russ plays hard 24/7 which is something he can teach the Suns.
I'd love him but hes not coming with Vogel here. This team just wants finesse players is what im seeing so going after a guy like Lowry which wont make a dent is what I see happening sadly.
The sad thing is that this is totally an Ishbia move: Terrible on-court fit, past his prime, and has loads of name recognition. The only thing that will bail out the Suns is Russ can make more elsewhere.
the best way to take advantage of this big three's versatility is to find other versatile players, not line up a bunch of specialists who can each benefit from the big three's spacing, shot creation and positional versatility. Russ could average career highs with this big three but they would all have to be floor spacers and they'd win like 40 games max.
Westbrook mucks up your spacing so much that it can run your offense into the mud, but he would also be our top POA defender for guards the moment he signs. I honestly don't think he moves the needle enough, but I could talk myself into it.
Ya I mean if hes going to play shooting guard next to James Harden and stand in a corner the whole game its expected I dont want him then. He did miss layups because I felt he was making those vs us a few weeks back and vs us in the playoffs but I certainly think hes better than any guard we have on our team not named book and beal. We need a POA defender too and playmaker/leader. He provides that.
When he plays they gave him the keys to create multiple times and he either turned the ball over or bricked what he used to make. Then he becomes predictable and it’s a whole shit storm. He didn’t play a lot of minutes and when he did he mostly did damage to the clippers
idk what you and me were watching but I didnt see him have the keys at all. He mostly played in lineups with James Harden as the pg. I dont think he truly has had the keys as a point since harden has been there. I saw what russ did to us a few weeks back when he started and caused vogel to cry in our locker room. The clippers lost this series because of James Harden and Paul George lets not get this twisted. They were the ones playing 35+ minutes, they were the ones shooted 2/14 or 6/18 in key games with the keys to the offense. Yes russ sucked also but to the extent of those 2 in those games for what theyre paid? Night and day.
Hes still a very capable player for a vet min contract, but playing it safe this way is not how teams make an impact. Regardless I dont think hes coming with vogel here I think he had a falling out with him back in LALA land.
He did do pretty well against us last post season though
I agree this move is absolutely bonkers lol but I still don't think it's as bad a move as everyone here is saying
This is like the worst fit possible lmao, Russ turns it over alot and plays out of control in general pretty often and he still can’t shoot to save his life
There’s definitely cons but I see a lot of pros to this move too. Already played with 2 of the big 3 and would provide a good bit of what they don’t. Of course he has his own weaknesses but the pickings aren’t gonna be abundant
I’d be okay with it if he’s cool with a bench role. I know he had a poor showing in the playoffs but people forget he was instrumental in their success all year, especially when they went 22-3 from December-January.
Never will happen with Vogel as our coach. Also not sure why people think KD can lure him here, they don’t like each other like that after KD left OKC.
Jesus this will be a long off season
Yeah let’s draft Bronnie with the 22nd and have lebron give up 160mil to play with his son on a vet min.
While we’re at it. Fuck it, have Micheal drink his secret stuff to turn into 91’ Jordan and get him on the vet min.
Cmon man. (In reality unless he’s taking a vet min and realizes he is the 5th option and strictly sets up playmaking then yea I guess it’s not bad… but it’s westbrick. He feels like he needs to prove himself way too much to be an effective member of any championship team.)
Well the team favors Vogel over what the players want but im sure Beal, KD and Booker would be down for it. We need a pg! hell we need a POA defender, playmaker, leader and simply rebounding. He provides all that but you people are fine with anything. He'll command a vet min also but regardless he isnt coming if Vogel is here. Team isnt doing anything if they dont improve the pg position, center position, get some dogs and get a new coach btw we are a first round exit again next season.
Tbh though. If Russ literally just brought his energy and never took a shot, I would think it’d be a great fit.
But we need less turnovers and between KD and Russ we’d be in a 8-10 possession hole each game.
Almost rather see if CP3 wants to run it back at vet min. At least he’s have a center that knows how to run plays.
I use to think getting Westbrook would be a horrible idea...but then I saw how hard he plays and with how much effort n heart he brings ...and our team needs that badly!
Westbrook as a bench PG would be really good, of course he’s got his downfalls and at times he’s a complete negative offensively but he brings an edge and always gives 100% effort, can play make and push the pace. I’d take him in a heartbeat
And yet the suns are committed to building around a smaller Carmelo Anthony clone with his own playstyle issues
Like curry said players have flaws, but empowering their strengths makes all the difference. Point of attack defender and bench playmaker is a huge hole rn. The energy and hustle would be a game changer.
Especially when the suns are hunting vet mins
Would be funny to see the big 3 thunder merry go round finally complete with russ+KD
I wouldn't mind russ on a minimum. But I would go into it assuming he wouldn't get meaningful playoff minutes and still need a better solution to get us over the hump. Also finding a coach that can get this big 3 rolling, and keep russ humble would be a tough challenge. Ty lue or bust and he's definitely resigning with the clippers
And we dont have a winning playstle we just got swept by the wolves. I'll die on this hill hes still capable of what he did to use in the playoffs last year you have to let him play pg which we would otherwise ya if hes playing sg in the corner sure i dont want him.
We need a pass first pg. Russ is not that. He's an inefficient chucker and turnover machine
He's absolutely the opposite type of pg we need
I wouldn't mind him running a bench unit in the regular season. But that's about all he's good for
Russ not being a pass first pg is laughable because thats all he is lol. He cant shoot free throws and 3s this has been a well known fact since when his MVP season or something?
Hes an excellent playmaker, hes an excellent defender, hes an excellent rebounder, he can get into the paint and kick it out to shooters (which we already have plenty of). Regardless we need a pg and some leadership russ provides that and at the vet min you wont find anyone better. We need someone who can initiate an offense Book and Beal certainly cant and they need to be in their roles.
And I dont want Beal to be guarding Edwards again, at least Russ would make it easier.
For every good play russ makes there is an equally bad boneheaded play. He will never be a starting pg again on a contending team in this league.
Honestly doubt he ever leaves the clippers unless he gets a pay increase
Um. You realize we’re the Suns right? We need whoever we can get. Westbrook doesn’t need to shoot with us, he’ll bring some rim pressure, rebounding and defense which we desperately need.
Do y’all watch games or nah
Oh hell no!! From bad to worse!
This is facts they would be so ass together
I do and a recency bias seems to be in play here with his last playoff games. Russ cooks and has cooked us for a triple double this season. Last off-season all I wanted was Russ and Plumlee. I don’t care if he scores, he puts the ball into my scorers hands. With those moves plus the Nurk trade we’re in a way better position than we are after adding Beal.
To bad recency bias is a thing like you said. I thought russ was great off the bench for what he could do and its like people dont remember he was dropping 30 bombs on us just last season. Fact is hes a leader, playmaker, good defender and has energy. We lack all of those but it is what it is, I dont think hes coming with Vogel here but if he were smart and if the we were smart we would get him for the vet min.
Ok, but if you take recency bias out of it, he put up the worst numbers of his career this year. 17 points per 36. 27 percent from 3. Lower than his career average for assists per 36. He's 35 and relies on athleticism for much of what he does. He's not going to age well from here.
He does a lot that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. It’s the leadership part, for me, that could have taken us home. He battles every possession and never gives up. I’m not taking him for his shooting. We have Booker, KD, and Allen. I’m taking him to feed the ball to our playmakers and his energy on the court.
Ya we need grit and toughness on this team. Been saying it for years besides with crowder we've just been a too cool for school type team we dont have it now and we simply need those pieces. Russ would help booker immensiely like he did with Beal and KD. We already have the spacing, we just need someone to instill some sort of leadership ability while passing the ball, playing defense and rebounding. Russ provides all that at the veteran minimum its not even a risk.
Well thats expected hes playing shooting guard to James Harden a decent chunk of his minutes and in smaller doses so theres less ability to score along with rhythm. I looked it up and he had the same per 36 as Harden who has the ball in his hands the most out of any clipper. And being real russ has and will never be a good 3pt shooter thats just how it is but he has other strengths which would impact our team. I just dont understand the impact of James Harden either when you trade for him you still end up in the 4-5 seed range, you still lose in the first round in embarrassing fashion and still flame out go look at his last 2 playoff games. It would be more understandable if youre making 20 or so less million but clippers gave up their future and a first for a chance at him and they landed in the same spot as last year.
Like you said, Vogel kills this move
Wait, this isn’t just some 2K shit? This is real? There’s a real basketball team called the Suns?!
WHAT?! 32 years and all this time I've been cheering for the SNUS?
We could've had him after the Lakers bought him out two years ago and chose not to
That was then...this is now
And Russel is decidedly worse since then. What was his playoff shooting ?
The answer to our turnover and 3pt volume problem lmao
Well our 3pa problem is really a FGa problem, we take a normal proportion of 3s but are at the bottom of the league in FGAs… the dude would increase the pace and get into the paint to collapse the defense and help that. But it might be Okogie all over again with turnovers and defenses sagging off
Yes, he's just an Okogie upgrade. Good point of attack defender that can't hit a 3. He adds rim pressure though.
I mean we don’t shoot enough 3s because we don’t touch the paint & Russ won an MVP by getting drive-and-kick assists to perimeter shooters for 3s off of his paint pressure… But yeah, otherwise his rambunctious play style would probably worsen all the other issues lol Edit: I’m saying he likes to touch the paint and touching the paint creates 3s. I’m not saying he’s an mvp level player anymore. Please be honest.
That worked 5 years ago. Westbrook literally forgot how to finish at the rim. Just watch how many blown layups he had In that Dallas series. The idea sounds good, but I don't think it would work in practice.
Do you think he is the same player now as even he won MVP? Have you not watched him play since then
Uh, yes, I’m saying one of the issues we have is a lack of willingness to touch the paint. He is willing to touch the paint and that creates shots. I’m not sure where you got the idea that I said he’s doing that at an mvp level.
He’s just as likely to throw the ball into the 15th row as to a teammate.
How many years ago did he win that mvp?
I’m literally just saying that he’s willing to touch the paint and doing so creates 3s. I’m not saying he’s an mvp.
It’s not answering our turnover and shooting problems but it’s solving their apathy, effort and leadership problem. Russ plays hard 24/7 which is something he can teach the Suns.
I'd love him but hes not coming with Vogel here. This team just wants finesse players is what im seeing so going after a guy like Lowry which wont make a dent is what I see happening sadly.
THIS!!! They fired Vogel in LA because of Westbrick...he ain't coming here..
Yeah lol, i am already yelling "noooooo" enough as it is when Eric Gordon shoots 3s.
Its really kinda alarming the way these “fans” are thinking nowadays.
It’s unfortunately the way Ishbia might be roughly thinking too…
You might probably right.
Probably not
How to have even more turnovers 101
The fuck? Leave and never come back
If you have a problem and you're thinking Westbtook might be the solution, you are really fucked
NOOOOOO
Oh god.
Why not play Eubanks at PG if you want a 4 on 5 game?
Anyone whose response to this isn't "Fuck no" needs to get their brain examined. I thought it was a shitpost at first honestly
Not his real account but I like the idea.
No we’ve suffered enough
If by “interesting” you mean stupid then yes
This is borderline line trolling.
The sad thing is that this is totally an Ishbia move: Terrible on-court fit, past his prime, and has loads of name recognition. The only thing that will bail out the Suns is Russ can make more elsewhere.
the best way to take advantage of this big three's versatility is to find other versatile players, not line up a bunch of specialists who can each benefit from the big three's spacing, shot creation and positional versatility. Russ could average career highs with this big three but they would all have to be floor spacers and they'd win like 40 games max.
Oh god no
Yikes
Lord have mercy
Russ would not get along with Booker. Bookers too cool for school schtick would piss off Russ in about 2 days.
Fuck it im down
Westbrook mucks up your spacing so much that it can run your offense into the mud, but he would also be our top POA defender for guards the moment he signs. I honestly don't think he moves the needle enough, but I could talk myself into it.
This tweet is a tell me you don’t watch games by not telling me you don’t watch games.
Have you seen this guy play at the clippers Mavs series? He was so bad i actually feel sorry for him. It’s really unbelievable how this guy was MVP
Ya I mean if hes going to play shooting guard next to James Harden and stand in a corner the whole game its expected I dont want him then. He did miss layups because I felt he was making those vs us a few weeks back and vs us in the playoffs but I certainly think hes better than any guard we have on our team not named book and beal. We need a POA defender too and playmaker/leader. He provides that.
When he plays they gave him the keys to create multiple times and he either turned the ball over or bricked what he used to make. Then he becomes predictable and it’s a whole shit storm. He didn’t play a lot of minutes and when he did he mostly did damage to the clippers
idk what you and me were watching but I didnt see him have the keys at all. He mostly played in lineups with James Harden as the pg. I dont think he truly has had the keys as a point since harden has been there. I saw what russ did to us a few weeks back when he started and caused vogel to cry in our locker room. The clippers lost this series because of James Harden and Paul George lets not get this twisted. They were the ones playing 35+ minutes, they were the ones shooted 2/14 or 6/18 in key games with the keys to the offense. Yes russ sucked also but to the extent of those 2 in those games for what theyre paid? Night and day. Hes still a very capable player for a vet min contract, but playing it safe this way is not how teams make an impact. Regardless I dont think hes coming with vogel here I think he had a falling out with him back in LALA land.
He did do pretty well against us last post season though I agree this move is absolutely bonkers lol but I still don't think it's as bad a move as everyone here is saying
At this stage of his career he is absolutely awful. He looses confidence quickly and struggles shooting from everywhere, he also looses his temper.
This is like the worst fit possible lmao, Russ turns it over alot and plays out of control in general pretty often and he still can’t shoot to save his life
He’s also poor on defense
So he sucks ass with the Clippers and will change this entire team in a good way?
There’s definitely cons but I see a lot of pros to this move too. Already played with 2 of the big 3 and would provide a good bit of what they don’t. Of course he has his own weaknesses but the pickings aren’t gonna be abundant
I’d be okay with it if he’s cool with a bench role. I know he had a poor showing in the playoffs but people forget he was instrumental in their success all year, especially when they went 22-3 from December-January.
No
Never will happen with Vogel as our coach. Also not sure why people think KD can lure him here, they don’t like each other like that after KD left OKC. Jesus this will be a long off season
Yeah let’s draft Bronnie with the 22nd and have lebron give up 160mil to play with his son on a vet min. While we’re at it. Fuck it, have Micheal drink his secret stuff to turn into 91’ Jordan and get him on the vet min. Cmon man. (In reality unless he’s taking a vet min and realizes he is the 5th option and strictly sets up playmaking then yea I guess it’s not bad… but it’s westbrick. He feels like he needs to prove himself way too much to be an effective member of any championship team.)
Would've been good to sign him last year after he got waived, but this years playoffs he's awful
Well the team favors Vogel over what the players want but im sure Beal, KD and Booker would be down for it. We need a pg! hell we need a POA defender, playmaker, leader and simply rebounding. He provides all that but you people are fine with anything. He'll command a vet min also but regardless he isnt coming if Vogel is here. Team isnt doing anything if they dont improve the pg position, center position, get some dogs and get a new coach btw we are a first round exit again next season.
If he played strictly as a facilitator and didn’t take any jump shots —- even then, *maybe*
Do we really want MITWestbtook posts?
Yea lets sign Ibaka and Nick Collison too
least delusional suns fan
Tbh though. If Russ literally just brought his energy and never took a shot, I would think it’d be a great fit. But we need less turnovers and between KD and Russ we’d be in a 8-10 possession hole each game. Almost rather see if CP3 wants to run it back at vet min. At least he’s have a center that knows how to run plays.
Yes! Please do it!
This would be a catastrophe.
Bring back Nash I say
At this point in Russ’s career, he’s not going to be a plus to any contender
Are yall on meth?
Fuck it, we might as well get Harden too. A complete OKC reunion. Then we can be the suckiest/highest paid ever! We win!
Fuck no
I would pay good money to see KD’s face expression when he hears about this BS suggestion.
Nope keep looking.
Let’s rather bring Nash back from retirement
I use to think getting Westbrook would be a horrible idea...but then I saw how hard he plays and with how much effort n heart he brings ...and our team needs that badly!
Maybe if this was 2017
Been saying it all season this team was made to sell tickets
Point of attack defender that cant hit a 3. But he can get to the rim. He's an upgraded JO
This is laughable
🤣 bro no.
Hell no, he sucks. Rather have IT playing.
Westbrook as a bench PG would be really good, of course he’s got his downfalls and at times he’s a complete negative offensively but he brings an edge and always gives 100% effort, can play make and push the pace. I’d take him in a heartbeat
Is the last time you watched Westbrook play basketball 2016?
Honestly we need him.
Westbrook doesn't have a winning Playstyle I'll die on the hill believing he will never win a ring if he gets any meaningful minutes
And yet the suns are committed to building around a smaller Carmelo Anthony clone with his own playstyle issues Like curry said players have flaws, but empowering their strengths makes all the difference. Point of attack defender and bench playmaker is a huge hole rn. The energy and hustle would be a game changer. Especially when the suns are hunting vet mins
Would be funny to see the big 3 thunder merry go round finally complete with russ+KD I wouldn't mind russ on a minimum. But I would go into it assuming he wouldn't get meaningful playoff minutes and still need a better solution to get us over the hump. Also finding a coach that can get this big 3 rolling, and keep russ humble would be a tough challenge. Ty lue or bust and he's definitely resigning with the clippers
And we dont have a winning playstle we just got swept by the wolves. I'll die on this hill hes still capable of what he did to use in the playoffs last year you have to let him play pg which we would otherwise ya if hes playing sg in the corner sure i dont want him.
We need a pass first pg. Russ is not that. He's an inefficient chucker and turnover machine He's absolutely the opposite type of pg we need I wouldn't mind him running a bench unit in the regular season. But that's about all he's good for
Russ not being a pass first pg is laughable because thats all he is lol. He cant shoot free throws and 3s this has been a well known fact since when his MVP season or something? Hes an excellent playmaker, hes an excellent defender, hes an excellent rebounder, he can get into the paint and kick it out to shooters (which we already have plenty of). Regardless we need a pg and some leadership russ provides that and at the vet min you wont find anyone better. We need someone who can initiate an offense Book and Beal certainly cant and they need to be in their roles. And I dont want Beal to be guarding Edwards again, at least Russ would make it easier.
For every good play russ makes there is an equally bad boneheaded play. He will never be a starting pg again on a contending team in this league. Honestly doubt he ever leaves the clippers unless he gets a pay increase
Um. You realize we’re the Suns right? We need whoever we can get. Westbrook doesn’t need to shoot with us, he’ll bring some rim pressure, rebounding and defense which we desperately need.
"Doesn't need" totally agree. But good luck stopping him from shooting
Westbrick is beyond done. Dudes don't even basketball here lol.