Oklahoma City needs Russell Westbrook

The Thunder are in a strange spot. The face of the franchise, he who must not be named, has left. When this happens to most NBA teams it’s devastating. Think Orlando Magic without Dwight or the Cleveland Cavaliers without Lebron. Both were left with no star and no young core. This is not the case with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have a super star. His name is Russell Westbrook. The trouble is he only has a year left on his deal. Everyone knows this. So what do they do? Trade him? Picks and young players? That makes sense if he is leaving…

But what if he stays? Let’s take a look at his season compared to other point guards:

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I set out to make a chart of the top 20 point guards in the league… that ballooned to 37 pretty quick. There are some that are unnecessary players like Michael Carter-Williams and Elfrid Payton.. But I was curious. Also I know Oladipo isn’t a point guard… I WAS CURIOUS!

I chose two stats, Points per Chance and Assists per 100 Chances (courtesy of Vantage Sports). Do these two stats tell the whole story? Absolutely not. Many of these guys that look like hot garbage have value in other areas. Shaun Livingston, Patrick Beverly, and George Hill all rate pretty bad on this chart, but their defensive value makes them starting caliber players in this league. So I’m not trying to give you a chart that shows the value of all point guards, but a chart that shows you where Russell Westbrook is absolutely special.

When you compare Russ to the other 36 point guards in these two categories, his combination of scoring and facilitating is unlike anything else in the league. Clearly Steph is the best in Points Per Chance, but his Assist+ per 100 Chances doesn’t even get close to rivaling what Russ did this season. The only player that is close to Westbrook last season was Chris Paul.

I also included his stats from the previous season. This season Russ held back some in his scoring potential. He has room to grow. If anyone is motivated to get better and prove people wrong this summer, it’s Russell Westbrook.

Not only has Russ become an elite scorer and distributor, he is also the best rebounding point guard in the NBA. He is first in OReb+ and DReb+ per Chance among all point guards.

Many feel like it is a no brainer to trade Russ now. All Thunder fans are still left with the sick feeling of abandonment, and don’t want that to happen again. But trading an elite talent like this shouldn’t be done with haste. Sam Presti should, and will do everything he can to keep Russell Westbrook.

The Sixers tore apart their franchise in search of a player like this. The Magic have been through many drafts searching for this player with little success. Building through the draft is hard. Sam Presti would be the man for the job, but you don’t always get superstars even if you pick in the top 3. You have to try to build around Russ, and the Thunder already have a lot of pieces in place to do this.

The kind of ferocity and chippiness that is Russell Westbrook may be exactly what the Thunder need next season. Not only for his on the court presence, but a personification of what the fanbase needs to get over he who must not be named. The viciously cathartic dunks. The desperate, yet sometimes spotty, defense that wills fast breaks. The fact that he works for everything he has and has always been somewhat of an underdog. This team needs Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City needs Russell Westbrook