Tuesday Bolts – 2.16.16
Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider ranks Russ fourth in trade value: “The league’s second-best player
this season after Curry by ESPN’s real plus-minus (RPM) and my wins above replacement player (WARP) statistic, Westbrook has surpassed 2013-14 MVP Kevin Durant as the brightest star in Oklahoma City. Westbrook also has a more favorable contract than Durant and LeBron James, who can both become free agents this summer and cash in on the rising cap. Westbrook has one more year left at $17.8 million — less than a million more than teammate Enes Kanter.”
Trade chatter from Stein and Windhorst: “The youth-laden Magic have made it known they are in the market for veterans as they continue to slide out of playoff contention. Sources say Orlando has been willing to discuss the prospect of moving some of its more familiar names, including former No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo and the recently re-signed Tobias Harris.”
Zach Lowe of ESPN.com: “Portland has $20 million in cap room to play with, plus two restricted free agents — Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard — due big raises under the skyrocketing cap. Teams queasy about paying their restricted free agents ditched them at least season’s deadline, when Brandon Knight, Reggie Jackson and Enes Kanter flew around the league. The Blazers are high on Crabbe, but Leonard’s asking price in preseason extension talks gave them sticker shock. (The restricted free-agency thing is yet another reason to keep an eye on Boston, with both Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller ticking toward it).”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com has OKC second: “They hold on with two straight wins over weak opponents. They face the Warriors twice, the Clippers twice, the Pacers and the Cavs between now and March 9. OKC gets to prove its worth the rising hype as serious challengers to Golden State.”
NBA.com: “Oklahoma City players rank first and third in All-Star points per game (minimum five games). The Thunder have played the league’s easiest schedule thus far, but have the toughest one going forward, with 17 of their 28 remaining games on the road and 10 against the other five teams over .600. The first of those is Sunday’s visit from the Cavs.”
Erik Horne: “Perhaps the best place to mine for a two-way option before the trade deadline is via a team out of the postseason race. Philadelphia’s 6-foot-9 small forward Robert Covington has been in trade rumors throughout the season. While he ranks among the league’s best in defensive RPM at his position (1.88, fifth among small forwards), the 25-year-old is shooting just 33.8 percent on 3s, 37.8 percent overall. Covington is just one example of a player who’s struggled shooting on a lottery-bound team. Would a change of scenery — particularly playing alongside Durant and Russell Westbrook — enhance the shooting of Covington, Phoenix’s P.J. Tucker (40.5 FG pct/34.6 3-point FG) or Portland’s Gerald Henderson (42.0 FG pct/36.5 3-point FG)?”
Anthony Slater on Toronto: “That’s what the weekend is for, a promotion of the game on a global scale. But it’s just a strange work environment. One lady budged her way in, nudged me aside and then asked Kevin Durant two straight questions. But she wasn’t interested in his answer. I watched her. All she did was Snapchat video her question and the first couple words of his answer and then, as he continued to speak, she was saving the clip to her phone and uploading it to ‘My story’ on Snapchat. He stopped. Then she repeated the process. No journalistic goal. Just a way of showing her friends and followers that she talked to Kevin Durant.”
