What If OKC Had Kyrie Instead of Russ?
The panel debate What if the Oklahoma City Thunder replaced Russell Westbrook with another all-time great point guard during Kevin Durant’s prime? Our NBA panel debates whether players like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Magic Johnson, Luka Dončić, or other elite point guards could have helped OKC win an NBA championship. We break down fit, leadership, playmaking, scoring, and playoff success to answer one of basketball’s biggest “what if” questions. Join the debate and let us know which point guard gives Kevin Durant the best chance to win a title.
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They would have been worse.
Would have been in the finals if KD played good in those last 3 games of the 2016 WCF
No need to replace Russ honestly if KD played better in those series they might have a ring
Russ was better than Kyrie
Years without Harden
2013: Russ gets hurt in the playoffs
2014: Ibaka gets hurt in the playoffs
2015: all 3 are hurt
2016: they blow the 3-1 lead
They were literally up 3-1 against the Warriors. The team was fine. All these excuses KD came up with. He started playing like trash. He supposed to be this GOAT scorer.
OKC and LAC both could have benefited from a PG swap. Clippers needed an aggressive wing scorer who could facilitate and OKC needed a PG that could facilitate and score efficiently.
Bro if they would have just keep harden they would have won .
For Ron to think okc was the best team in the league without harden just says how dominate KD and Russ was cause the rest of their roster was trash …like people for get curry signed an extension for 44 million for 4 years so that allowed them to go get iggy, and Livingston and put all these players around curry, Klay and Draymond … okc just had a bad constructed team with bad injury luck .
Russ’s constant rim pressure and playmaking meshes with Durant’s spacing, shooting and scoring versatility efficiently
Nothing would change lol
Why we choosing primes vs a young russ? This is pure hate from Pen.
2017 Kyrie gets them over the hump dawg, 2017 Kyrie was a fucking PROBLEM
Russ and KD were both the problem in OKC. Their flaws and unwillingness to work on them was the problem. Unless both of them addressed some of the deficiencies they had (we now know that wasn’t going to happen) OKC was never going to win barring a run where the competition is hurt or the front office works wonders and puts absurd levels of depth around them.
2011 WCFs they lost to the mavs
2012 Finals they lost to the heat
2013 Pat Bev hurts Russ
2014 Russ misses half the season comes back they go to the WCF lose to spurs
2015 KD misses whole season
2016 WCFs lose 3-1 lead to GS
KD-Russ the last time they played back to back full seasons/playoffs together was
2011-2012
They definitely had problems. I think they win in 2018 if KD-Russ stay together (bc they traded Ibaka for Victor at the draft then next season traded victor for PG13) that should be enough to beat
GS/HOU or the Cavs even if Kyrie stayed but who knows
The KD-Russ duo was pretty good and had a chance