NBA Trade Rumors: Rajon Rondo For Russell Westbrook Blockbuster Trade Proposed! Westbrook Becomes First Scoring Option, Rondo Compliments KD! Will It Happen?
The NBA Trade Rumors can't come too soon, and frustrated teams will have to face the harsh reality that their team structure is flawed. The Oklahoma City Thunder is one of those teams.
The tandem of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook is one example. They are both young, talented and athletic. They are probably the best duo in the league in terms of statistics. Yet, they are struggling in the playoffs despite being the 2nd seed.
One of the glaring flaws is how Westbrook takes over in the crucial stages. This is Kevin Durant's team, as he is best scorer in the game and is most likely to win the MVP award. But Westbrook believes he is good enough to be an alpha dog.
Westbrook is not wrong. But he should not be the main option, especially in crunch time when you have Kevin Durant on the floor.
Rant Sports had a similar evaluation: "It's no secret that Westbrook is a ball-dominant, score-first type of point guard. It's also no secret that he is an exciting player with great offensive skills. However, with a superstar like Durant on the team, it is actually crippling when another player other than Durant, is taking over 20 shots a game, especially the one running the offense. Not only is Durant better without Westbrook, but the team has shown it is better as well.
The bottom line is, the Thunder are far more superior when Durant is the one taking the shots - not Westbrook. With Rondo, Durant would be able to do what he does best without any hindrance. Not only would he be able to take the shots, but Rondo would create more opportunities for Durant that Westbrook never could."
In contrast to Oklahoma, the Boston Celtics has a lot of peripheral players with no superstar scorer. The fact about Rondo is that he is not a star who can lead a weak team to a championship, maybe even the playoffs. He can make stars look better like the Big Three in Boston.
It's just a case of need. Rondo would be better with a superstar, Westbrook would be better as an alpha dog. The Celtics need more pieces since at this point, Westbrook is the better player.
If OKC gets knocked out in the first round after an MVP season for Durant, they need to make some changes.