OT Will Durant Leave OKC in free agency?

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Will Durant Leave OKC in free agency?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 62.9%

  • No

    Votes: 13 37.1%
  • Total voters
    35
Wizard Mentor

Wizard Mentor

Wizard Mentor
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OKCs probable road to a championship:
They beat Memphis/Blazers with HCA in first round of playoffs (Probable)
They beat Spurs without HCA in 2nd round (very unlikely)
They beat GS without HCA in conf. finals (very unlikely)
They beat Cleveland without HCA in conf. finals (unlikely, they'll be exhausted).

The most likely scenario is that they lose to the Spurs in the 2nd round. If this is the case, I believe the following will happen:
Spurs win 4-0 or 4-1: Durant leaves
Spurs win 4-2 or 4-3: Durant mulls, leaning toward leaving

IMHO, Durant will stay if they at least take 2 games from the Warriors after beating the Spurs. I don't think that will happen. I think Durant will leave.

538: Thunder have 7% chance to win the title.
 
If he wants a ring, he'll leave. He needs a better Robin. He'll never win a ring playing with a ball hogging, hero ball playing, poor shooting, turnover prone stat whore that freezes him out in the 4th quarter of close games.

BNM
 
Bollocks. I don't think they make it past the first round. Westbrook will find a way to frag their chances.
 
Boob-No-More said:
If he wants a ring, he'll leave. He needs a better Robin. He'll never win a ring playing with a ball hogging, hero ball playing, poor shooting, turnover prone stat whore that freezes him out in the 4th quarter of close games.

BNM
Click to expand...

He leads the league in triple doubles and averages 10 plus assits how is he a ball hog?
 
Tunchi said:
He leads the league in triple doubles and averages 10 plus assits how is he a ball hog?
Click to expand...

The question is, how many does he get in the 4th quarter when he freezes out Durant? That's the question. It almost always seems he's getting his triple double in the 3rd, and then hero-balls in the 4th. That's what I think he was getting at.
 
I figure Durant will follow his fellow Longhorn LaMarcus in deciding to leave the team after losing 2 games and giving up on the team.

5362967e23911.preview-300.jpg
 
I don't think Durrant has a problem with Westbrook. They both get their 18-20 shots per game.
Same as CJ and Dame
 
I don't even know to be honest. I don't think its guaranteed that he leaves OKC, I don't think it's guaranteed he stays. I think OKC will be front runners going into FA.
 
Tunchi said:
He leads the league in triple doubles and averages 10 plus assits how is he a ball hog?
Click to expand...

Easy, just look at the numbers I posted in Eric's Best PG Ever thread. Even though Westbrook has a healthy Durant this year and shares the ball more under Donovan than he ever did under Scott Brooks, the Thunder have the 5th lowest percentage of assisted 4th quarter FGs in the league. Westbrook racks up assists in the first three quarters, mostly by handing the ball to Durant and letting him shoot over his defender, but in the 4th quarter, he still resorts to hero ball, calls his own number (in spite of having the worst clutch time FG% on his team) and freezes out Durant.

"Westbrook's clutch field-goal percentage of 34.9 percent was the lowest on the Thunder (among players who'd taken at least 10 shots in those situations), per B/R Insights."

The closer the game and the higher the stakes, the worse it gets. I have been commenting on Westbrook freezing Durant out in the 4th quarter of playoff games for several years. Just look at these clutch time numbers from the last time Durant/Westbrook played together in the playoffs:

2013-14 (the last time the Thunder made the playoffs):
Kevin Durant: FGM = 17, FGA = 33, EFG% = .545
Russell Westbrook: FGM = 14, FGA = 46, EFG% = .348

That season, Kevin Durant won the MVP and led the league in scoring at 32.0ppg. So why, with the game on the line in the playoffs, was Russell Westbrook taking nearly one and a half times as many shots as the much more efficient MVP and scoring champ?

There's more, but that basically sums up Westbrook right there. He's an amazing athlete, but a selfish player who craves the spotlight to the detriment of his team with the game on the line. With the game on the line, he forces up bad shots, commits unforced turnovers and freezes out his much more efficient scoring teammates.

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
Easy, just look at the numbers I posted in Eric's Best PG Ever thread. Even though Westbrook has a healthy Durant this year and shares the ball more under Donovan than he ever did under Scott Brooks, the Thunder have the 5th lowest percentage of assisted 4th quarter FGs in the league. Westbrook racks up assists in the first three quarters, mostly by handing the ball to Durant and letting him shoot over his defender, but in the 4th quarter, he still resorts to hero ball, calls his own number (in spite of having the worst clutch time FG% on his team) and freezes out Durant.

"Westbrook's clutch field-goal percentage of 34.9 percent was the lowest on the Thunder (among players who'd taken at least 10 shots in those situations), per B/R Insights."

The closer the game and the higher the stakes, the worse it gets. I have been commenting on Westbrook freezing Durant out in the 4th quarter of playoff games for several years. Just look at these clutch time numbers from the last time Durant/Westbrook played together in the playoffs:

2013-14 (the last time the Thunder made the playoffs):
Kevin Durant: FGM = 17, FGA = 33, EFG% = .545
Russell Westbrook: FGM = 14, FGA = 46, EFG% = .348

That season, Kevin Durant won the MVP and led the league in scoring at 32.0ppg. So why, with the game on the line in the playoffs, was Russell Westbrook taking nearly one and a half times as many shots as the much more efficient MVP and scoring champ?

There's more, but that basically sums up Westbrook right there. He's an amazing athlete, but a selfish player who craves the spotlight to the detriment of his team with the game on the line. With the game on the line, he forces up bad shots, commits unforced turnovers and freezes out his much more efficient scoring teammates.

BNM
Click to expand...

Like I said... it's what he (BNM) was saying, Tunchi.
 
Boob-No-More said:
Easy, just look at the numbers I posted in Eric's Best PG Ever thread. Even though Westbrook has a healthy Durant this year and shares the ball more under Donovan than he ever did under Scott Brooks, the Thunder have the 5th lowest percentage of assisted 4th quarter FGs in the league. Westbrook racks up assists in the first three quarters, mostly by handing the ball to Durant and letting him shoot over his defender, but in the 4th quarter, he still resorts to hero ball, calls his own number (in spite of having the worst clutch time FG% on his team) and freezes out Durant.

"Westbrook's clutch field-goal percentage of 34.9 percent was the lowest on the Thunder (among players who'd taken at least 10 shots in those situations), per B/R Insights."

The closer the game and the higher the stakes, the worse it gets. I have been commenting on Westbrook freezing Durant out in the 4th quarter of playoff games for several years. Just look at these clutch time numbers from the last time Durant/Westbrook played together in the playoffs:

2013-14 (the last time the Thunder made the playoffs):
Kevin Durant: FGM = 17, FGA = 33, EFG% = .545
Russell Westbrook: FGM = 14, FGA = 46, EFG% = .348

That season, Kevin Durant won the MVP and led the league in scoring at 32.0ppg. So why, with the game on the line in the playoffs, was Russell Westbrook taking nearly one and a half times as many shots as the much more efficient MVP and scoring champ?

There's more, but that basically sums up Westbrook right there. He's an amazing athlete, but a selfish player who craves the spotlight to the detriment of his team with the game on the line. With the game on the line, he forces up bad shots, commits unforced turnovers and freezes out his much more efficient scoring teammates.

BNM
Click to expand...


Thats interesting. Great counter.
 
Strenuus said:
Like I said... it's what he (BNM) was saying, Tunchi.
Click to expand...

Yep, OKC has lost 10 games this season when entering the 4th quarter with the lead. That's an alarming number for the team with the 3rd best record in the league and Westbrick is the major reason. When the guy with the ball in his hands is a poor outside shooter (30% career 3FG%) who is highly turnover prone and freezes out his much better shooting teammates, it's not going to end well. The stats, both this year, and in years past back up the fact that Russell Westbrook resorts to hero ball way, way too often - to the detriment of his team. This goes all the way back to when he had both Durant AND Harden as teammates. They were both far more efficient scorers and far better clutch time performers than Westbrook, yet he would freeze them both out in the 4th quarter of playoff games. He'd be jacking up contested 3-pointers and committing unforced turnovers while both Durant and Harden looked at him dumbfounded. If Durant wants to win a championship, his best bet is to get as far from Russell Westbrook as possible. Durant creates a huge mismatch problem and is a great clutch time performer. OKC is unable to exploit that due to Westbrook's hero ball mentality.

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
Yep, OKC has lost 10 games this season when entering the 4th quarter with the lead. That's an alarming number for the team with the 3rd best record in the league and Westbrick is the major reason. When the guy with the ball in his hands is a poor outside shooter (30% career 3FG%) who is highly turnover prone and freezes out his much better shooting teammates, it's not going to end well. The stats, both this year, and in years past back up the fact that Russell Westbrook resorts to hero ball way, way too often - to the detriment of his team. This goes all the way back to when he had both Durant AND Harden as teammates. They were both far more efficient scorers and far better clutch time performers than Westbrook, yet he would freeze them both out in the 4th quarter of playoff games. He'd be jacking up contested 3-pointers and committing unforced turnovers while both Durant and Harden looked at him dumbfounded. If Durant wants to win a championship, his best bet is to get as far from Russell Westbrook as possible. Durant creates a huge mismatch problem and is a great clutch time performer. OKC is unable to exploit that due to Westbrook's hero ball mentality.

BNM
Click to expand...

Perfect example: When we were down 10 with 1:30 left in OKC, and all the dumbass things he did to lose them the game.

I loved every single millisecond of that meltdown. And it's funny cause that's not an outlier.
 
Tunchi said:
Thats interesting. Great counter.
Click to expand...

Theres's a lot more (like his team's W/L record when Westbrook has a triple double, scores more than 35 points and attempts more than 30FGA). I posted about it last year when he was in the midst of his "historic" triple double run. Most of the media was piling on the praise, in spite of the fact that OKC was losing most of those games. The only one with enough balls to call out Westbrook was Charles Barkley. Im sure the numbers are different this
Strenuus said:
Perfect example: When we were down 10 with 1:30 left in OKC, and all the dumbass things he did to lose them the game.

I loved every single millisecond of that meltdown. And it's funny cause that's not an outlier.
Click to expand...

Yep, unforced TOVs, bad shot selection and a stupid, pointless technical. That's clutcth time Westbrook.

BNM
 
Boob-No-More said:
Theres's a lot more (like his team's W/L record when Westbrook has a triple double, scores more than 35 points and attempts more than 30FGA). I posted about it last year when he was in the midst of his "historic" triple double run. Most of the media was piling on the praise, in spite of the fact that OKC was losing most of those games. The only one with enough balls to call out Westbrook was Charles Barkley. Im sure the numbers are different this


Yep, unforced TOVs, bad shot selection and a stupid, pointless technical. That's clutcth time Westbrook.

BNM
Click to expand...

Weren't they like 3-2 or 2-3 during that stretch? I remember laughing and going "Who cares about a triple double if you lose?"

When Dame got 50 in Toronto it was like "Who cares? We lost." Though, it did make it a close game (Down 1 or 2 with 3 min left).
 
Boob-No-More said:
If he wants a ring, he'll leave. He needs a better Robin. He'll never win a ring playing with a ball hogging, hero ball playing, poor shooting, turnover prone stat whore that freezes him out in the 4th quarter of close games.

BNM
Click to expand...

Thats good in theory; but what team does he go to? Washington has all sorts of problems. The Rockets have a cancer locker room and zero defense Harden. The Lakers or Knicks arn't close to contending.

Westbrook got that team to the finals which is more than any PG's can say I see out there. The year Westbrook was injured and they had a competent PG in Reggie Jackson start the Thunder lost in the first round.

I expect Durant to sign a 1+1 deal and re-evaluate free agency next summer with his fellow Thunder teammates.
 
Boob-No-More said:
Easy, just look at the numbers I posted in Eric's Best PG Ever thread. Even though Westbrook has a healthy Durant this year and shares the ball more under Donovan than he ever did under Scott Brooks, the Thunder have the 5th lowest percentage of assisted 4th quarter FGs in the league. Westbrook racks up assists in the first three quarters, mostly by handing the ball to Durant and letting him shoot over his defender, but in the 4th quarter, he still resorts to hero ball, calls his own number (in spite of having the worst clutch time FG% on his team) and freezes out Durant.

"Westbrook's clutch field-goal percentage of 34.9 percent was the lowest on the Thunder (among players who'd taken at least 10 shots in those situations), per B/R Insights."

The closer the game and the higher the stakes, the worse it gets. I have been commenting on Westbrook freezing Durant out in the 4th quarter of playoff games for several years. Just look at these clutch time numbers from the last time Durant/Westbrook played together in the playoffs:

2013-14 (the last time the Thunder made the playoffs):
Kevin Durant: FGM = 17, FGA = 33, EFG% = .545
Russell Westbrook: FGM = 14, FGA = 46, EFG% = .348

That season, Kevin Durant won the MVP and led the league in scoring at 32.0ppg. So why, with the game on the line in the playoffs, was Russell Westbrook taking nearly one and a half times as many shots as the much more efficient MVP and scoring champ?

There's more, but that basically sums up Westbrook right there. He's an amazing athlete, but a selfish player who craves the spotlight to the detriment of his team with the game on the line. With the game on the line, he forces up bad shots, commits unforced turnovers and freezes out his much more efficient scoring teammates.

BNM
Click to expand...

If he's so bad and selfish; why were the Thunder easily beat in the first round when Westbrook was injured?
 
BNM somehow turns me into a Westbrook supporter.

I rate the guy as around the 15th best player in the NBA so far below the national consensus. I agree with most the criticisms BNM has; just think he overstates their impact and understates Westbrooks positives. Yeah the Thunder lost a lot of his triple double games last year, but they still won more than we're winning this season. The games Westbrook sat out the Thunder were horrific last year.
 
Draco said:
If he's so bad and selfish; why were the Thunder easily beat in the first round when Westbrook was injured?
Click to expand...

Because they're also not good without him. Imagine being the 2000 Blazers, except if Damon goes down, there's no Greg Anthony to pick up the slack. Westbrook is propping up a dry-rotted lineup, but he's also not going to make his team better, the team is only as good as he can be; no intangibles.
 
Draco said:
Thats good in theory; but what team does he go to? Washington has all sorts of problems. The Rockets have a cancer locker room and zero defense Harden. The Lakers or Knicks arn't close to contending.

Westbrook got that team to the finals which is more than any PG's can say I see out there. The year Westbrook was injured and they had a competent PG in Reggie Jackson start the Thunder lost in the first round.

I expect Durant to sign a 1+1 deal and re-evaluate free agency next summer with his fellow Thunder teammates.
Click to expand...

PORTLAND!!! DUH!!!!!!!..
You just lost a nocth bro. You should know better. ;)
 
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