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Which rookie is in the worst position for long term success: Derrick Rose, Westbrook, OJ Mayo, or E.Gordon? By John Nguyen
01.30.2009 - Updated on 01.30.2009
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Anyone following hoops is currently debating about whom got snubbed from the All Star game and Rookie game: sorry Vince Carter and Kevin Love. You guys deserve better, which led me to think about the current rookies from the 2008 class. These guys are putting up great numbers, but on terrible squads. I’m convinced that teams that are perennial bottom feeders stay that way because of their front office. It’s never the players because the front office makes the decisions on who stays and who goes. I chose to examine Rose, Westbrook, Juice, and Gordon because they all have star potential especially D-Lightning and OJ. These 4 have been playing better than expected. I’m not worried about Kevin Love since McHale stepped down as GM.
Russell Westbrook: He’s been great. Originally I didn’t have him in my top 4 before the draft, but he was in my top 10. Currently averaging 14.4 pts, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, it’s amazing that he’s almost matching Rose. He’s not a true point by any means, but he is damn good. The Thunder was born out of betrayal and lies if anyone followed the Seattle divorce. I’m pretty sure the organization will have long term bad karma no matter who is on the team even if he’s Kevin Durant. I’m not even sure if Durant wants to stay long term if they keep losing. When they have an owner who publicly said, “I didn’t expect this,” to an extent, there are major problems.
Eric Gordon: He lit up Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for 41 points. He had a couple of 30 point games. He has shown that he’s better and has more potential than Ben Gordon. Averaging nearly 14 points a game, The Clippers finally get something correct in the draft. But you see this is the problem. They’re perennial lottery contenders. The Clippers rarely win anything. You can count on the team to lose every season and have rightfully earned the reputation of being the “NBA’s Graveyard.” I’ve been watching the Clippers since 1993. Yeah, Eric Gordon will not win anything here. Whether it’s Dominique Wilkins, Ron Harper, Action Jackson, Elton Brand, or Baron Davis, it doesn’t matter who they bring in. They find ways to lose even when it’s not there. The owner, Donald Sterling, has done some shady shit in his real estate profession that you guys might never hear about to earn this karma bestowed upon the ball club. Oh look, Gordon got 27 points and 7 rebounds against the Cavs yet they still got blown out.
OJ Mayo: The Juice is the real deal yet he’s in the same ordeal as the other two players, but in a different jersey. Chris Wallace has stepped forward to admit that he probably shouldn’t have done that Pau Gasol trade. No one else would have done that trade in fantasy basketball either. They’re not going to reach the playoffs for the next 3 years. The team is too young, but I’m pretty sure Mayo doesn’t mind being the number one scorer on this crap team for years to come.
Derrick Rose: He’s a special player. Certain fans are now questioning if he should be a shooting guard…even Gary Payton said this. I’ll make it official: Rose is not a shooting guard. Please be patient with his development. As for the rest of the organization, this is troubling to address. By adding the number one pick, the Bulls as a collective whole still regressed. How is this possible? This is essentially the same squad that won 49 games 2 years ago minus Ben Wallace. Their current win loss record is worse than last year, which is sad since they completely sucked last season. They managed to become even worse. What the hell happened? Also, letting Ben Gordon walk for nothing in return will set Rose and the Bulls back another 3-5 years. Not a good look.
Flagrant Foul says that it’s a toss-up between Eric Gordon and Russell Westbrook.
In your opinion, considering all of this, which rookie is in the worst position for long term success?
[image:http://www.flickr.com/photos/legacythree/412888549/] |
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Posted by
Yo
on 02.1.2009 | Yo, I would have to go with Gord. LAC are constantly terrible, it will never change. But you need to go the way of that spud Jason Kelly. Fire this fool already. . | Posted by
how do you spell his last name?
on 02.1.2009 | I have read your terrible articles and you always dismiss OJ. Especially early on. But that seems to have changed, now he is dominating. And now Beasley is the fraud. I wonder how long it will take till you change your opinion this time. Don’t forget to actually watch some games instead of just commenting on them. . | Posted by
J.Nguyen
on 02.1.2009 | Thanks for reading, but who’s the real idiot here?
Please re-read it. How did I jump on OJ? I still think he has some Kobe-like potential. Nothing has changed. I just think the organization he’s in is bad. When you have a GM who admits that he probably should not have done the Pau Gasol deal, one has to think how stupid can he be in the future? What other dumb moves will he make? Read some of my articles please.
As for mentioning Beasley, there was a reason I didn’t mention the kid at all. He’s not worthy of my time; he’s kind of a fraud at the number 2 spot. BUT he is in a good situation with Riley, Wade, and Chalmers. He will win with those guys in the future UNLESS WADE BOLTS. Then everything is over. . | Posted by
STAPULERz4lyf
on 01.31.2009 | The answer to the question is definitely Eric Gordon. He is in the black hole of the NBA. He’s doing great, but I still haven’t heard anything about him all season. And playing with two of the biggest ballhogs (BD and ZR) doesn’t help. . | Posted by
on 01.31.2009 | youve got to get patient with them idiot, these batch of rookies are way better than the ones before them. they are headed in the same category as 2003, 1996, and 1984 drafts. they will be better in few years and maybe even the face of their franchises. why did you miss on michael beasly who isnt playing as expected? . | Posted by
How do you spell his last name?
on 01.30.2009 | now you jump on OJ. Took a while. Are you willing to admit you were wrong again. Watch some games please. . | Posted by
on 01.30.2009 | I think Rose has that ability to put a franchise on his shoulders and carry it out of obscurity a la Chris Paul, while Memphis has some good young parts to build with. I like them in the future. As for Westbrook in OKC, Durant and Green are NICE and they’re learning and growing together. ...who does Gordon have? GET OUT OF LA, SON. . |
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