Legacy

Obviously he's not for the Thunder because of Kevin Durant, but is Westbrook a franchise player in his own right? Could he be the leader of a championship winning team? Can you build a successful team around him?

Yeah, I see what you mean. Would you put a guy like Allen Iverson on this list?

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean bro. I was considering doing that, but I just went with my gut list for some reason lol. To me, just because they were injured they did not live up to the hype that surrounded them which fooled alot of the fans and experts. Not anything against the players themselves. If this article disses on anyone really, its more of VC and T-Mac for wasting their talents. IMO, we were fooled by Oden and them because we all had such high hopes and the injuries really killed any chance of us seeing what they would be capable of when they are fully healthy therefore causing the "fooling". if you get what I'm saying.

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/002/083/964/106432476_crop_650x440.jpg?1333264060 April Fool’s has been a long tradition to many people in countries around the world. Playing jokes on your friends, family and random people has been fun to kids, teens and even adults. When it comes to the NBA, there has actually been a few players who have fooled fans, experts and even themselves. These guys had potential to be either a top player in the history of the game or a franchise cornerstone; either way, it did not pan out as we have all wished for. Most of them were fun to watch at times, others a bit painful, and some of them might have not even had a chance for us to watch them play. Injuries, weak mentality, bad work ethic or just even plain laziness, these five guys have fooled us within the past years. (In no particular order.) Grant Hill When Grant Hill came out of Duke and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, the expectations set for him were set extremely high. Next to an infamous guy named Michael Jordan, many saw Hill as a possible face of the NBA, alongside Jordan. In fact, Hill was more popular with the fans at one point, at least when it came down to All-Star voting during the 1995-96 season. Hill was looking to go down as one of the better players in league history and was one of the originators of the “point forward” position. Hill had great years until his ankle started giving him major problems. Later on, he had groin injuries and sports hernia which made him consider retirement. Despite the injuries, Hill was a great player. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to be who everyone thought he would be for many years to come. Hill was having a great season this year too, even with his age nearing 40. Another injury has sidelined him this season. Yao Ming The great wall of China, or Yao Ming, had many expectations by fans all over the globe. He was one of the more exposed international players of all time. His 7’6 frame was hard to miss and not have on top of national headlines everywhere. Yao was the first pick by the Houston Rockets back in 2002. He was getting attention from other players around the league, even the most dominant player of all time, Shaquille O’Neal. Seeing how Yao is well over 7 feet tall, injuries were bound to happen to the big fella. Foot injuries bothered Ming so bad, that he was forced to retire early. It’s sad in many ways. He could have been the first successful Chinese player in NBA history and could have led the Rockets to perhaps even a championship one time during his era. Due to all the injuries, we will never know what Yao was fully capable of being in the league for the long term. Vince Carter Vinsanity is my favorite player of all time behind Jordan, so before fans attack me on this one, let me explain. As said when he was drafted, Vince Carter has a tremendous amount of skill and potential. He was always a gifted athlete and even a dominant offensive player during his prime in Toronto and his first years with the Nets. Vince was so talented that some analysts said that if he had the same work ethic and drive as say a Kobe Bryant, then Carter would have been the better player. Carter always lacked the work ethic and motivation to be what he could have fully became. His lack-luster defense and second option type attitude did not help at all. VC might never win a ring or MVP award in his career, but he will go down as the greatest dunker of all time, an athletic freak, and the guy who did not really give 100 percent effort half of the time. Tracy McGrady The 2001 Most Improved Player had some monster seasons. McGrady was nearly unstoppable at one point of his career. However, the injury theme continues in this saga of NBA April Fool’s. T-Mac was a great scorer, but people forget that he was not too shabby on the other side of the ball. His defense was non-existent. Another knock on McGrady was the fact that he never got his team past the first round despite his many chances. McGrady was never a winner in the league, which is unfortunate for a player of his stature. Injuries hurt him in the long run which is why he is now on the bench of the Atlanta Hawks. Greg Oden This can be one of the more sad stories in recent NBA history, Greg Oden and his injuries. The No. 1 pick had potential to be one of the better defensive anchors in the history of the league. His injuries have ended his chances of that. Oden has played 82 games over the span of four seasons. He has had knee surgery multiple different times. It’s sad because people declare Oden to be a bust. It is not fair to his game or himself because he never had a legitimate chance to showcase his skill. Portland may not regret drafting Oden as it passed up on Kevin Durant for a guy that it just waived a few weeks back. If ever healthy and given another chance, Oden can still be a solid player. Other than that, he fooled us probably just as hard or even harder than any other player on this list. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1127255-april-fools-5-players-that-have-recently-fooled-the-nba

Kobe will be a monster even if he didn't have fingers. God damn.

Wow Lee owned Gasol nice on that.

Lakers better win this. Tank city.

Source

Yessir always do. Should have brought in more members. -_-

Holy shit, I have 10 thousand views on Bleacher Report for this article.

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/002/056/609/114500422_crop_650x440.jpg?1332488738 A good team in the National Basketball Association can have a pure point guard, a star shooting guard or a dominant center. However, a championship-winning team must also have at least a solid bench. Excellent bench play usually starts with a guy known as the sixth man. The sixth man can bring energy when their name is called after the first break of the game. He can be as clutch as a starter when given the opportunity, and yes, he can be starting on about half of the other teams in the league. The sixth man of the year award goes to the player who can fill all of the above qualities, and this year is no different. Here are five players who stand out more than the rest to have a shot at winning this award. 5. Mo Williams If the depth chart was made according to positions all the time, Williams would be listed as the third string point guard on the Clippers. It is ironic how he can start on most teams in the league. He is scoring 13.7 points per game, hits a couple of threes per game and has an impressive PER of 15.66. Williams can score when needed to. Even with Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups on the team, Williams is still one of the more talented players for the Clippers. He brings energy into the game and is one of the better point guards to be coming off the bench in the league. 4. Al Harrington After a disappointing 2010-11 campaign, Harrington has come back to Denver stronger than before. His aggression on the offensive end has led him to attempt 12 shots and earn a surprising field goal percentage of 45 after a couple years in the low 40s. Harrington has been a big part of the Nuggets success this season. He shoots only 66 percent on free throws; imagine if he got that to around 72 like his career. Harrington has nights where he is unstoppable and can’t be defended. On those nights, it seems a tad bit harder to beat Denver. 3. Jason Terry Age has not caught up with Terry like it has with a few other players on the Mavericks. He remains one of the backbones on the squad. Besides the field goal shooting, Terry can hit from beyond the arc and his free-throw game has been as solid as ever. Clutchness is the Jet’s game. When Dirk needs someone to call late in games when he’s off, you know Terry will have his back. Terry has more playoff experience than anyone else on this list. That will be a huge factor in the postseason with this aging Dallas team. 2. Lou Williams Normally the leading scorer of a team is a scoring two-guard or a ball dominant starter, but that’s not the case in the city of brotherly love. Williams ranks among the top tier of bench players in the whole league. He leads his team in scoring, and he sits on the bench while the opening tipoff is set. That might be one of the more impressive stats in the league. He scores nearly 16 points a game while averaging 3.6 assists off the bench, too. Williams attempts around four three-pointers per game, but we can't blame him when he averages 39 percent from back there. 1. James Harden When a team has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the franchise, can it really ask for more? The Thunder did, and they got more. Harden is one of the better shooting guards in the NBA, and he comes off the bench. Harden is a lefty who comes off the bench on a championship contender, and he can be compared to a younger Manu Ginobili in some ways. Not only does he average 17 points off the bench, but the efficiency for Harden has been incredible—48 percent from the field, 39 on threes and 84 at the charity stripe. Don’t think Harden is all about the scoring, though. He also racks up four boards a game and nearly four assists. He will definitely be the x-factor for Oklahoma City come playoff time. He will be the 2012 NBA sixth man of the year. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1116454-nbas-best-of-the-bench-top-five-6th-man-candidates

LOL at Smith trying to play it off.

Ellis is a far better play-maker than he gets credit for. Defense wise, they will be similar to Curry/Ellis so it's not going to work out. I don't know why the Bucks did this deal.

Blame the PR team or Lacob himself then. He was put in a position where he was going to get booed. He has such a big ego for a guy that doesn't back up his talk. Until you have a team that's at least .500, you should never talk after the guest of honor. It should have been host Greg Papa to announce Mullin's jersey being hung after he talked, not Lacob. He should have seen it coming. Fans pay tons of money to go to these games. It's the first time they can express their displeasure with the front office in front of a big crowd, you knew they were going to take that chance. It's not like they booed Mullin either. It was all Lacob and he should have been quiet. He knew that was coming.

It's gotta be the 07 playoffs for me. The whole Mavericks series was just intense and so exciting to watch. First time the Warriors were getting some national attention in a while.

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/images/photos/001/619/966/107813108_crop_650x440.jpg?1332227863 Any Golden State Warrior fan can admit that their heart sank when they heard about the Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut swap. They might have even turned a little red to know that Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown’s expiring contract was a part of the trade. You know for a fact that Warrior fans felt a little nauseated knowing that Captain Jack aka Stephen Jackson was headed to the Bay Area. However, after a few days of agony and pain which included a heart throbbing welcome-back party for Ellis on Friday, Warrior fans should look ahead. As Chris Mullin said, be patient. As the owners and front office have been saying, “we hit a home run.” Despite the horrible cliché, a fan should actually be excited for what’s going to be happening with the franchise for years to come. In modern day NBA, it is extremely hard to find a skilled seven-footer. The Warriors traded for one and by doing so, they did trade a fan favorite, who is also a 6’3" shooting guard. Ellis is probably one of the more underrated players in the league, but it was either him or Stephen Curry for Golden state and they went with the latter. When Bogut is healthy, he is arguably a top-three center in the league. His incidents have also been freak accidents, in which he suffered no torn ACL or any other career threatening injuries. As long as he stays away from the feet of David Lee or Andris Biedrins or does not have Curry’s luck, he should be fine. He plays defense, which is what the Warriors need. He rebounds the ball, which is what the Warriors need. And he is a big body, which is another thing which the Warriors desperately needed. Not to mention, Bogut and Lee can be one of the better frontcourts in the NBA when both are at 100 percent. Mix that in with a healthy Curry in his third season running the team, Klay Thompson who has potential to be a good starter in this league and Dorrell Wright who will be looking to rebound off a career-worst season. And that’s not even to mention a good draft pick in a deep draft class. Sure, Ellis is gone, but a backcourt with him and Curry was never going to get the Warriors far. Udoh was finally showing signs of solid play, but he most likely has reached his potential and will be a solid rotation player in the league. And Captain Jack got traded right away for Richard Jefferson and another pick for this deep draft class. Give Coach Mark Jackson another year under his belt and familiarity with his players, and you have an extremely solid group of players. What most people are failing to see is that this is of course a condensed season, meaning it’s shorter than the average due to the lockout. Injuries will happen and new coaches will have a tough time adjusting to the pace and their teams. Permitting injuries, next season the Warriors will be in the playoffs. Yes, I pulled a Joe Lacob and guaranteed the Warriors in the playoffs for next season. Hopefully, I’m not put in a position in front of Warrior fans to get the same non-pleasing reaction as Lacob though. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1111841-warriors-second-look-why-the-bogut-deal-does-not-look-so-bad-afterall

And when you thought life couldn't get worse as a Raiders fan..ugh.

After looking at that trade past the first few days, I realized the trade isn't as bad as I first thought. But at the same time, you have to look at the past history of the franchise. One playoff season in nearly two decades. The fans patience isn't going to be the best after all the shit they have been through. Let them know it's going to take time instead of rushing into the playoffs after one season. He promised the playoffs so much this season to a point where he said he will lower ticket prices if it didn't happen. He asked for this himself. And like a Warriors beat writer tweeted, you never talk after the guest of honor.

He handled it unprofessionally himself. He should have just stopped after Mullin talked. How is he going to promise the playoffs for THIS season then trade our BEST player when we are less than 4 games away from the 8th seed after back to back wins against solid teams. He basically lied and gave up on the season when he promised the playoffs for this season.

How is that awful? He's promising bullshit and everyone knows it. A fan can't show their anger towards an owner? He should have ended it with Mullin talking instead of putting us through hearing his voice again, after he already talked once. Smh at how people are blowing this out of proportion. The crowd had every right to do that.

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Stephen Curry has potential to be one of the better point guards in the league, but is showing that he is injury prone. With Ellis gone, now this is Curry's team. Does Curry seem to be a player you can build a championship team around like a Chris Paul or Derrick Rose? Or is he better off as the second or third option?

Sig is gone.

Even though Fisher sucks now, it's sad that he has to leave the Lakers after being there so long and as a big part too. I wonder how Kobe feels?

First thoughts are that I [expletive]ing hate this trade. What do you guys think this does for the Warriors?