The Lakers and Rockets apparently had talks about swapping Russell Westbrook for John Wall, but they fell apart when Houston wanted additional compensation.
This would have been the second time Westbrook and Wall had been traded for each other.
Wall has not played all season due to a disagreement with the Rockets about the role they wish him to play. He’d like to start or at least be in contention for a starting role; the Rockets would prefer him to come off the bench and give the young guys a chance to play.
I think it’s fair to say that Westbrook has been a colossal disappointment in Los Angeles. I’d even go so far as to say he’s one of the most overrated players in NBA history.
Pacers News:
The Pacers will debut their new lineup tonight at home against Cleveland and recently-traded former Pacer Caris LeVert.
Can I just take a moment to say how wonderful it is that I haven’t had problems with the Dope’s spell checker on any of these unusual names? Anyone else notice that?
Philadelphia should have a much better outlook, at least short term, than Brooklyn.
Poor Nets fans. Instead of one incredibly self-centered nitwit, the team now has two! Simmons (according to Embiid) wanted having his own team to lead and dominate. Fat chance of that now.
Still, the enhanced drama/trainwreck should be entertaining.
Bizarrely, some oddsmakers still favor the Nets to win the championship. More realistically they should be happy to make the playoffs and get out of the first round.
Nets will be lucky to make the playoffs. Durant is only just now returning. Irving is a head case and only playing away games because he won’t just take the freaking vaccine already, oh my God, what is the big deal? Simmons is an even bigger head case than Irving. And they’re on a 10-game losing streak, I believe.
Of course, the Raptors immediately released Eubanks. Guess they wanted the space for Champagnie, another 905 player or a series of ten-day wonders. This was all about Thaddeus who has a lot of leadership experience and has lots of gas left in the tank, given his 33 years. But wondering why - maybe a strategy for, the Raptors are not trying to be Golden State but doing their own thing. And Dragic was either not happy or extraneous.
The Blazers made a terrific 23 point comeback in the second half over the Knicks to end up winning by nine points. Josh Hart played like he’s been on the team for years, and Anfernee Simons lit up the second half with a barrage. Nurkic had 18 rebounds. This team of former bench players and new hires is playing with energy and enthusiasm, moving the ball extremely well. Trading Mr. Dribble (McCollum) to NOLA was a good move, IMO. When Lillard comes back next season, he’s going to have to give up his methodical approach and get with the new energy.
This seems to be the general consensus. I’m not so sure. Ben Simmons is actually really good at basketball - just not as a primary or even secondary scoring option. He was being asked to do things in Philadelphia that he never should have been doing with his skillset, and the team around him was not suited to his abilities. It got into his head, and he became useless.
But OK, now he goes to Brooklyn. This is huge defensive upgrade for the Nets. Durant and Simmons in the playoffs will be the best forward tandem in the league on defense.
Offensively? With Irving in the lineup alongside Durant, Simmons plays the 5 and becomes an evolutionary Draymond Green. He’s big enough and a good enough finisher to roll to the basket, but he’s a better passer than Green so defenses won’t be able to collapse event a little since letting Simmons kick out to Irving or Durant (or Seth Curry, a great pickup) for uncontested three pointers isn’t going to work.
And with two high-usage superstars ahead of him in the pecking order, I’d give Simmons an excellent chance of setting down mentally. He doesn’t have to worry about carrying a scoring load now. Obviously nothing is foreordained… but I think Ben Simmons has landed in the best possible situation for him as a player and person, and I think the Nets could be very dangerous in the playoffs (if dumb-dumb Kyrie Irving gets vaccinated, which he won’t, so the Nets won’t be dangerous, but not because of Ben Simmons).
The Nets could sneak a win out of their next two games (against the Kings or Knicks) but will have to do it without Irving. Maybe Simmons can get a mental health clearance to play.
The NBA is fucking with Enes Freedom (nee Kanter). He’s an outspoken critic of human rights abuse and has been very blunt about China’s mistreatment of its people. China has in turn pressured the NBA to shut him up. The Celtics traded him to the Rockets, who immediately cut him, so he will likely not play in the NBA again. What a shitty thing to do to someone who had to fight to stay in this country and who became a citizen.
If he was that good why did he sign a 1 year vet minimum with the Celtics this year? Knowing he’d be a backup. This was BEFORE he spoke out against China.
Enes has never defended well. That’s always been the biggest knock on him - he’s simply not a two-way player. It’s a measure of how useful he has been in other ways (rebounding, offense) that he was able to consistently get out on the court at all.
That said, you’re likely right he’s being retaliated against. It’s always easier to do that when the player, like Colin Kaepernick, have enough legitimate knocks on their skills that it can appear plausible that no one wants them. All though he isn’t old, even in basketball years, Enes looks like he was already on the downside of his career. So the exclusion becomes that much easier.
It was weird when he was in Portland. As long as he was starting (when Nurkic was injured), he scored well and swatted shots with regularity. Then he went to the bench and it was like it deflated him. He was traded not long after that.
Josh Giddey of the Oklahoma City Thunder, whom OKC selected 6th overall in the 2021 draft, became the youngest player ever to record two consecutive triple-doubles, and he achieved this feat at Madison Square Garden in an overtime win over the New York Knicks.
Fellow rookie Tre Mann, the 18th pick, contributed a career-high 30 points.
Giddey became the first teenager to record a triple-double at MSG, and the third person to pull one off in his MSG debut, joining Chuck Person and Magic Johnson.
The Knicks’ Julius Randle also had a triple-double, achieving 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. It was only the second game at the current MSG in which more than one player reached a triple-double.
The Raps have been playing well, but had two tough games. I do not like to blame officiating, but it was marginal in a recent game, though not the only factor in a one-point loss. One of the strengths of Toronto is someone else or the bench usually chips in when a good player has an off night. Occasionally, nothing goes down at all. On rare nights, the whole team shoots like they have an inner ear infection.
