There have been recent reports that the Boston Celtics are targeting Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook for a trade. Westbrook is one of the league's best five players, but Kevin Durant's Independence Day departure puts his future in Oklahoma City in serious doubt, especially considering that he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. Sam Presti can't afford to lose another star for nothing, so unless he can get Westbrook to resign, look for Presti to deal the final part of Oklahoma City's once promising past.
I'm a Boston fan, so you can see why I'm excited at the possibility of getting a player like Westbrook. There's never been anyone who pairs unrelenting ferocity with otherworldly athleticism quite like Russ. And the Celtics need a star to get them over the hump in the East. With Westbrook on board, it almost doesn't matter who they give up, they will be the opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers need to worry the most about in the East.
However, adding Russ to the Celtics is a bit more complex than plugging in a great player to a great organization. Firstly, the Celtics have based their recent modest success on team play and total involvement, due to their lack of a transcendent talent. This is one reason they should go after Westbrook, but they would have to ensure that Westbrook's omnipresence doesn't overtake the team concept that has helped Boston overachieve in the first place. Because let's be honest; I love Russ, but he can be a ball-hog. It doesn't come from a selfish place, he just wants to win so badly and thinks that he needs to take over for his team sometimes. But his indomitable will to win is something anyone loves from a player.
That's especially true for Boston fans. Celtics fans are some of the smartest and most passionate in the league. They've rooted for guys who play the right way, from Bill Russell to Dave Cowens to Larry Bird to Kevin Garnett, and supported them all the way. The fans will love Westbrook once they experience his unquenchable thirst for victory, but the fans aren't who I'm worried about.
As Bill Simmons described it, the Boston media is a conglomerate of old, grumpy white guys. I'm not sure how well they'd take it the first time Westbrook went 8-for-30 from the field, or the first time he showed up at a press conference with clothes that made him look like a fourth grader who took a bad dare. What about the first time he lights up a reporter for what he feels to be a stupid question? All of the OGWG's would go crazy.
Maybe some of the issues the Boston media have had with connecting with divisive black athletes goes back to the troubling race relations the city has had going back to the busing desegregation riots in the 1970's. Boston has been described as a racist city at times. I wouldn't go so far as to generalize something as horrible as racism for an entire city, but the writers there seem to have a particularly hard time coexisting with black athletes.
That isn't how it has to go, though. I think the best case scenario, if Westbrook did go to Boston, is what happened with Garnett when he joined the team in 2007. Garnett, whose intensity rivals Westbrook's, ended up thriving in Boston, and the writers appreciated his team focus, especially on the defensive end. That could happen for Westbrook too, but only if he performs well. If he plays like an MVP candidate and the Celtics win, the writers will not have anything to say. Winning cures everything, even grumpiness. But the media are liable to roast Westbrook the first time and every time he does something they don't like, and with Westbrook's pride level, that could start a long and slippery slope towards terrible media relations in Beantown. Westbrook is more than capable of providing ammunition for the media to get angry at him.
And now a quick dive into the wormhole of Russell Westbrook hating the media:
At the 0:45 mark of this clip, Westbrook flat out tells a reporter he doesn't like him:
(Video from asapviralz)
In this video, Russ shows why he has been called "The Marshawn Lynch of the NBA":
It's not the worst thing in the world if Westbrook doesn't get along with the media in Boston. It would just be an annoying story line. It won't change the fact that he would be the perfect player for the team because he gives them a star talent and the city because every fan would get behind him. If the Celtics can get the guy knowing they can keep him long-term, they should do it.
I'm a Boston fan, so you can see why I'm excited at the possibility of getting a player like Westbrook. There's never been anyone who pairs unrelenting ferocity with otherworldly athleticism quite like Russ. And the Celtics need a star to get them over the hump in the East. With Westbrook on board, it almost doesn't matter who they give up, they will be the opponent the Cleveland Cavaliers need to worry the most about in the East.
However, adding Russ to the Celtics is a bit more complex than plugging in a great player to a great organization. Firstly, the Celtics have based their recent modest success on team play and total involvement, due to their lack of a transcendent talent. This is one reason they should go after Westbrook, but they would have to ensure that Westbrook's omnipresence doesn't overtake the team concept that has helped Boston overachieve in the first place. Because let's be honest; I love Russ, but he can be a ball-hog. It doesn't come from a selfish place, he just wants to win so badly and thinks that he needs to take over for his team sometimes. But his indomitable will to win is something anyone loves from a player.
That's especially true for Boston fans. Celtics fans are some of the smartest and most passionate in the league. They've rooted for guys who play the right way, from Bill Russell to Dave Cowens to Larry Bird to Kevin Garnett, and supported them all the way. The fans will love Westbrook once they experience his unquenchable thirst for victory, but the fans aren't who I'm worried about.
As Bill Simmons described it, the Boston media is a conglomerate of old, grumpy white guys. I'm not sure how well they'd take it the first time Westbrook went 8-for-30 from the field, or the first time he showed up at a press conference with clothes that made him look like a fourth grader who took a bad dare. What about the first time he lights up a reporter for what he feels to be a stupid question? All of the OGWG's would go crazy.
Maybe some of the issues the Boston media have had with connecting with divisive black athletes goes back to the troubling race relations the city has had going back to the busing desegregation riots in the 1970's. Boston has been described as a racist city at times. I wouldn't go so far as to generalize something as horrible as racism for an entire city, but the writers there seem to have a particularly hard time coexisting with black athletes.
That isn't how it has to go, though. I think the best case scenario, if Westbrook did go to Boston, is what happened with Garnett when he joined the team in 2007. Garnett, whose intensity rivals Westbrook's, ended up thriving in Boston, and the writers appreciated his team focus, especially on the defensive end. That could happen for Westbrook too, but only if he performs well. If he plays like an MVP candidate and the Celtics win, the writers will not have anything to say. Winning cures everything, even grumpiness. But the media are liable to roast Westbrook the first time and every time he does something they don't like, and with Westbrook's pride level, that could start a long and slippery slope towards terrible media relations in Beantown. Westbrook is more than capable of providing ammunition for the media to get angry at him.
And now a quick dive into the wormhole of Russell Westbrook hating the media:
At the 0:45 mark of this clip, Westbrook flat out tells a reporter he doesn't like him:
In this video, Russ shows why he has been called "The Marshawn Lynch of the NBA":
(Video from djvlad)
And finally, my favorite act of Westbrook disdain:
(Video from djvlad)It's not the worst thing in the world if Westbrook doesn't get along with the media in Boston. It would just be an annoying story line. It won't change the fact that he would be the perfect player for the team because he gives them a star talent and the city because every fan would get behind him. If the Celtics can get the guy knowing they can keep him long-term, they should do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment