Russell Westbrook: A faller or straight bust?

Russell Westbrook: A faller or straight bust?

Westbrook has been very shaky for fantasy owners as of late. You can start to mark his fall, so to speak, when his time ended with the Wizards and his time began with the Lakers. Russell Westbrook was not the same player he was back in his primal years featuring the Thunder, and he hasn’t fallen off of his game completely; so where do we put him?

Do we categorize him as a straight bust or a player that’s fantasy draft stock had fallen for this season? Is this season going to be a rocky, finding himself season, or is this season just going to make him out to be a straight bust?

My answer is going to be short, concise, and to the point. I am going to answer this question within the next few paragraphs; so with that being said, let us begin.

Russell Westbrook is a…

In short, the 33-year-old is a fallen player. He isn’t to the point of his career where we can classify him as a bust, but he is definitely falling off. Westbrook is a fallen player that’s value has suffered since joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Mainly last season we can pinpoint his snowball effect collapse. Honestly.

He isn’t a straight bust because he is still averaging good numbers, those numbers? Averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Plus, averaging 44.4% from the field last season. Now, the main season why he has fallen is due to his stats falling off. His productivity is depleting, to say the least, and is making the Lakers and their fanbase more angry and confused as each passing day goes by.

Two seasons ago, when he played with Washington, the man averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 11.7 assists per game. Since his role has been changing, so has his productivity and what he feels comfortable doing.

Since joining the LakeShow, Westbrook’s value around the NBA and fantasy basketball has gone down tremendously. As the former superstar couldn’t hit his three-pointers or mid-range shots, which (when watching him play) was pretty pathetic. It wasn’t a few, it was reoccurring mistakes that killed him throughout the entire season with the Lakers.

There is another problem with Westbrook:

If the Lakers keep experimenting with Westbrook and make him come off the bench, then guess what? His fantasy points will go down, his productivity will go down, and his effectiveness and usefulness will go down tremendously. Making him almost invisible within Darvin Ham’s new system with the Lakers, which will end poorly for both sides if Westbrook’s act keeps failing.

If Westbrook comes off the bench, then you draft him later. His stats are already proving to us he is on a slippery slope of decline, this season is make-or-break for him. In what way? For fantasy owners, we will determine his value moving forward and if he truly is a bust at this point and time in his career.

If he can shoot, rebound, or pass as well as he used to, then what use does he have? That is why this is a make-or-break season for him, beyond fantasy but in real life.

Conclusion:

With all that being said, Westbrook is a fallen player and not (yet) a bust. If he keeps declining, then, yes, he will be a bust. However, for now, the 33-year-old will be a fallen player trying to redeem himself.

In the end, Westbrook is a bench player and should be drafted by the tenth and beyond round. Per CourtSideHeat’s calculated mock draft, I have him at round number eleven. The bench is his new friend and will be in real life and in fantasy.

Use caution if you go through with drafting him. Be smart and know what you are getting yourself into, just remember he is Russell Westbrook and he is a depreciating asset – for lack of a better phrase. Use your discretion wisely, I will be checking in on Westbrook throughout the fantasy season.

Herbert Jones: Sleeper or Bust?

Herbert Jones: Sleeper or Bust?

Jones is definitely a sleeper, but a deep sleeper. You wouldn’t take him midway through the draft, but more toward the end of the draft. CourtSideHeat has him being selected in the tenth round, to be exact, with the 98th pick. But why? Because he has high value going into his second season with the Pelicans and is someone you need to have on your fantasy team.

The 24-year-old is a good defensive player that averaged 2.5 steals per game last season, and to do that as a rookie is pretty unique and jaw-dropping. Honestly, seeing a rookie be that good at being a menace through stealing and blocking the ball is something that takes multiple seasons to learn.

However, for him, he specializes in that and that is why fantasy owners love him and fans in real life love him. Not only is he averaging 9.5 points per game, and 3 rebounds, but also getting big defensive numbers is something very promising for the franchise and for fantasy owners.

By no means is he a bust, in simple terms, he is a sleeper that deserves to go before the tenth round. Don’t get him before the eighth, but don’t let him drop to the evevlnth round. This is a player with terrific wingspan, height, width, and skill that is only getting better. I don’t want to hype him up too much, but his defensive skills remind me of one terrific player; that player? Mikal Bridges.

No joke, him and Bridges have some similarities defensively and that is one of the biggest compliments I can give him defensively. Statistically and how he performs overall makes him the perfect candidate for your 13-man roster. Get him in the tenth, have him as a backup, and let’s see where he goes from there.

Nothing too complicated, just keeping it simplified and smart. Jones will be a good return on investment, be patient and it will work out well. He’s on a team that can use his services, that is the benefit of being on the New Orleans Pelicans.

All the signs to selecting him are there and he is a very positive player. I will be selecting Herbert Jones, you should too – you won’t regret it!

Avoid this player like the plague…

Avoid this player like the plague…

Fantasy basketball is coming right around the corner as CourtSideHeat has released their calculated mock draft breaking down all 13 rounds, and 130 players – 10 per round. Now within that mock draft, you knew there were going to be some sleepers and then there were going to be some busts.

However, and this may come to everyone as a shock, the biggest bust for this fantasy season would be Dejounte Murray. Yes, the same Dejounte Murray that got traded from the San Antonio Spurs to the Atlanta Hawks. But why?

There are multiple reasons as many experts are saying not to select that guy, or, if you do, then you use him with caution. Again, why would we do that for a guy that has been on the up and up since joining the league? I’m going to discuss that starting in the next paragraph.

Why avoid Dejounte Murray?

Number one, he’s in a different environment than what he’s used to:

From being the number one option to now being the Robin of the team; that’s a difficult transition to make, why? Because one team desperately relied upon that singular player and now he is moving to a team that has many weapons that will have the touches shared equally – or at least somewhat proportional to their skill level.

He’s in a different system, with coaches and players having different mindsets than his previous team, and he will be asked to do different tasks than what he was previously asked to do by the Spurs.

It will take a while to get used to and that could cause his production to decrease, which is not good for real life or in the fantasy world. The reason why I believe that is going to be the case is due to the fact that he isn’t the star anymore. When DeMar DeRozan left, guess what? Murray was the star and the number one option, hence why his playing time and production picked up.

Now that he’s with a new team with a wholly different philosophy, it is going to take some time to get used to. But even then, I have a problem seeing his productivity staying the same consistency throughout the season or just downright dropping.

Number two, Murray is not going to be a two-way player, the coach will make him play one style:

Nate McMillian could force Dejounte Murray into being more of a playmaker than an active shooter, he may strip away the combo that Murray has become so good at. The reason why I put this as number two is that the backcourt already has playmaking and shooting, a two-way player, in Trae Young. It isn’t impossible to see, but it would be tough to imagine to see McMillian having two of his top players playing the same style – especially in the first unit.

I’m not saying it is going to happen, but just have that in the back of your mind. He may force Young, or most likely Murray, to focus on one part of their game better than the other. Not entirely eliminating one area, just focusing more on shooting (for example) and letting the other one play off of that skill.

The backcourt has to flow smoothly and properly so McMillian could see this as the perfect opportunity, since both players are like an identical mirror to each other, to play off one another with their most important skills.

Why am I bringing this up? I am bringing this up to say that production and his role may go down or be utilized in a different capacity.

Lastly, number three, his selected role will determine his productivity:

Dejounte Murray will have a different role than what he had in San Antonio, that is without question. Now, the real question comes when we break down what kind of role he receives amongst all these already good players in Atlanta.

He’s still going to be getting tons of minutes, and he is still an important player, but his productivity may decrease due to the good/great players increasing. If that makes sense. The coach is going to have to figure out how many shots players are going to take per game (what is their minimum and what is their maximum), what each player’s primary position/role is going to be, who’s going to be ball-dominant on the team, and different things along those lines.

Ultimately, Murray’s productivity will rely upon what kind of role he is put into and what that coach allows him to do. How long will his leash be? How much input does Murray initially have over this team and what he can do? That will be found out during the beginning of the season when we see him adjusting to the new system, team, etc.

Conclusion:

I love Dejounte Murray, from the time he got into the league until now. Everyone knows that I have been hyping him up when he got traded to the Hawks; as I believe he will be doing great things for that team, and he will thrive there. However, in the sense of fantasy basketball, he is going to be kind of a bust.

Yes, he is going to be spectacular for his team in real life. But I truly believe, along with other experts, he is going to have a hard time in fantasy. He is going to have great productivity in real life, but for us fantasy owners, it is not going to be the same.

Everything is going to be extraordinarily different and maybe even a little more unique when it comes to him finding his way in this brand-new system. Just something to think about as we are three days away from the NBA tip-off.

In conclusion, that is why I am writing him off as a bust – given the reasons I have provided. However, it does pain me in some ways because he is a talented player and I have ranked him very well in my mock draft. But I have to be realistic.

I’m still going to draft him, but I am going to do so with caution and already going into it that he is going to bust down and not be the greatest that we thought he was going to be when traded to Atlanta.