
This blog post is not me hating on others opinions or thoughts on the situation but for me to express how I feel about the situation at hand. I like where the Bulls are and I like the direction the organization picked to go.
John Paxson more or less shuts down speculation of #Bulls pursuing a star like Russell Westbrook now.
"You want superstars. You want to do what the Clippers are doing and the Lakers are doing, but we're realistic right now. We're not in that position."https://t.co/3O7m4qnyVQ pic.twitter.com/64PB5aFQId
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) July 11, 2019
I have had many questions about the ability of John Paxson and Gar Forman’s leadership throughout the years. The Head Coaching carousel, trading effective NBA players, and deviating from building a championship team by adding over the hill vets.
Where I finally started to agree with the Bulls front office is when they decided to blow it all up and add young and athletic players to the squad. The Jimmy Butler trade which netted Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen really caught my interest because a direction was finally picked. Get young, get athletic, and get young guys that can shoot the rock.
So, I ask why trade integral parts of this rebuild for an aging star? Rusell Westbrook is a damn good player, I am not denying that. No ifs, and, or buts about it. Westbrook is a former MVP and has had three straight seasons of averaging a triple-double.
Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016-17 | 28 | OKC | NBA | PG | 81 | 81 | 34.6 | 10.2 | 24.0 | .425 | 2.5 | 7.2 | .343 | 7.7 | 16.8 | .459 | .476 | 8.8 | 10.4 | .845 | 1.7 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 31.6 |
2017-18 | 29 | OKC | NBA | PG | 80 | 80 | 36.4 | 9.5 | 21.1 | .449 | 1.2 | 4.1 | .298 | 8.3 | 17.0 | .485 | .477 | 5.2 | 7.1 | .737 | 1.9 | 8.2 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 25.4 |
2018-19 | 30 | OKC | NBA | PG | 73 | 73 | 36.0 | 8.6 | 20.2 | .428 | 1.6 | 5.6 | .290 | 7.0 | 14.5 | .481 | .468 | 4.1 | 6.2 | .656 | 1.5 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 22.9 |
Salary | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Age | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | Signed Using | Guaranteed |
Russell Westbrook | 30 | $35,654,150 | $38,178,000 | $41,006,000 | $43,848,000 | $46,662,000 | Bird Rights | $158,686,150 |
2020 NBA free agency is going to be junk.
2021 NBA free agency is going to be even crazier than this year:
Giannis
Kawhi
LeBron
PG13
Beal
Gobert
McCollum
Griffin
OladipoAnd more. That's going to be insane. And teams will start positioning themselves as soon as this season.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 10, 2019
So, by the time other superstars hit free agency, Russ will be 33 years old. Another red flag goes up considering how his numbers have dipped in FG%, FT%, and 3P% over the last two years. Who knows? Maybe in that time span, the Bulls become a real threat with their young core in the Eastern Conference and free agents would like to join them. Again that’s just a theory.
Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017-18 | 29 | OKC | NBA | PG | 80 | 80 | 36.4 | 9.5 | 21.1 | .449 | 1.2 | 4.1 | .298 | 8.3 | 17.0 | .485 | .477 | 5.2 | 7.1 | .737 | 1.9 | 8.2 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 25.4 |
2018-19 | 30 | OKC | NBA | PG | 73 | 73 | 36.0 | 8.6 | 20.2 | .428 | 1.6 | 5.6 | .290 | 7.0 | 14.5 | .481 | .468 | 4.1 | 6.2 | .656 | 1.5 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 22.9 |
Featured Photo Credit: CBSSports.Com
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I'm Buzz. I like to drink, watch the Bulls, Sox, BlackHawks, and Bears. That's about it. So, let's #Crackum. Follow @BuzzOnTap on twitter to drink some beers and watch some games.

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