Wanted: Top 5 Point Guard for Sale

OKC featured Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka at one point in time and were just a few games shy from winning the NBA Championship. Now the only one left is Russell Westbrook. If you are Sam Presti, GM of the Oklahoma City Thunder what are you feeling? Is this a punch from Mike Tyson to the gut? Is this just the beginning of the next challenge? Are you ready to jump like Tommen from Game of Thrones? You traded James Harden and came with Steven Adams and Mitch McGary. You traded Serge Ibaka for Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Erysan Illavosa. Now Kevin Durant left and you got nothing for that so the last thing that OKC should do is trade Russell Westbrook.

The late great Jerry Buss arguably one of the greatest owners in all of sports once told a frustrated Kobe in 2004, “you’re a 5 karat diamond I can’t trade you for 5 one karat diamonds” Is this same thought process Sam Presti is using with respect to trading Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook is a Top 5 player in the league and will garner a lot of assets back to OKC which will then ease the transition of a rebuild. Man oh man the talent they had deserves an ESPN 30 for 30 ASAP. Kevin Durant has gone to the Warriors and with Westbrook being a free agent next summer I doubt he will stay in OKC. So you might as well get as much as you can now for him. The sooner the better because the market right now is booming with this new salary cap but the closer you get to the trade deadline the smaller the market becomes. Sure, OKC can offer Westbrook an extension but I don’t see him signing that therefore the next move is to trade him. Let’s not forget Russell Westbrook did lead OKC to the playoffs while KD was hurt so it’s not like OKC will be at the bottom of the barrel but since the West is so stacked any change creates a domino effect. If I’m Sam Presti I would want to trade Westbrook now because I don’t want to be the guy known for letting two of the Top 5 players in the league leave my team and I don’t get anything in return. If you wait until the season starts then the contracts becomes locked in which means the money each team has will be different and could shrink the trade market very quickly.

If I’m Sam Presti, I’m contacting three teams expeditiously: Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. Each of these teams has young talent and draft picks that could warrant trading Russell Westbrook.

Here are three trade scenarios:

1. Thunder/76ers:

Thunder: Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor and Timothe Luwawau, 2018 first and second round pick

76ers: Russell Westbrook, Dion Waiters, Ersan Illaysova

This would be tough because Simmons has the potential to be a superstar. Shit he almost had a triple double in his first summer league game but if you want Westbrook you gonna have to pay. Don’t act it would be the first time a number one pick gets traded before they play their first game.

Thunder/Celtics:

Thunder: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley 2 first round picks not owned by the Brooklyn Nets

Celtics: Russell Westbrook

With the addition of Al Horford, Boston has become a dangerous team in the East but they still that piece that can possibly beat Cleveland in the playoffs. Al Horford with Russell Westbrook, Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and other pieces can definitely help them.

3. Thunder/ Lakers

Thunder: D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram, 2018 first round pick

Lakers: Russell Westbrook

Russell is from LA. LA needs star power. Case closed. According to my brother, he would trade everybody even Jim Buss and Mitch Kuchpek for Westbrook.

Other teams that could spark OKC’s interest: Knicks and Wizards

4. Thunder/Knicks

Thunder: Derrick Rose, Kristaps Porzinigis

Knicks: Victor Oladipo and Russell Westbrook

This is a real chin hair grabber because Porzinigis has no ceiling. Like he could be better than Patrick Ewing but then again if you can acquire a guard who can have a bigger impact than Walt Frazier in the mecca of basketball what would you choose? Then again if Derrick Rose or Brandon Jennings or both ball out in NYC would you really need Westbrook then because either way big fella is gonna flourish regardless.

5. Thunder/Wizards

Thunder: John Wall, Kelly Oubre, first round pick

Wizards: Westbrook and Enes Kanter

If you gonna lose a top PG then you have to gain another one in return correct. If I’m Ernie Grunfeld you might as well swing for the fences because you can be fired at any minute. Enes Kanter is better than both of your current bigs so you would be upgrading at two positions with one move.

The first three teams can give him the most money next year especially if you’re the Lakers because he’s from LA so that could be a match made in heaven. This isn’t the first time this happened and it won’t be the last. This occurs in 2011 when Carmelo Anthony was traded from the Nuggets to the Knicks for everyone you can think of. Denver won 57 games that season after trading Carmelo so anything is possible if they decide to trade Westbrook. On the other hand, the longer you wait the smaller the market becomes which means Sam Presti can’t demand as much as he can now. Just make sure if you trade Westbrook you get valuable assets who can contribute immediately because you don’t want to be known as the guy who let Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and now you become a basement dweller. Let the phone calls begin. Is it worth the risk who knows but it’s a risk you have to take.

 

 

 

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“All these adults around and they yell Sonny come get him/ Quiet as kept doctors think he may have autism”- Sonny

As you should know by now that I am a father of 3 young kids with my oldest being 7 and my youngest just turning 2 but today I’m focusing on my son Reid who is 3 and a half years old. My son Reid saved my life and family in many ways because before him, I was the last Grayson in my family and now the Grayson can live as long as the cops and other people allowed it to live on. By no means am I devaluing my 2 daughters, Morgan and Hannah but to have the opportunity to raise a boy into a man is one of the most rewarding yet challenging tasks of all time but I’ve been challenged in some way since the beginning so why not add another challenge to my belt. He is the lady killer whether it was the big brown eyes to the curly fro to the long eyelashes (only women say that part though) to his smile and laughter. At the end of all of this I can proudly say that Reid is my son. All my friends were happy that I was having a boy. I can remember Quianna telling me in Shoppers that she might be pregnant and how excited I was. Like I jumped and click my heels together. I think that was the same time an earthquake happened in Baltimore as well is that a coincidence maybe and if so my bad.

I will never forget how Reid was born in the first place. It was a regular appointment for Quianna and she had her whole day planned out. She was going to the doctor then grabs a McDonalds Steak, egg and cheese meal then takes a nap. After the nap go to Bowie to meet up with Shanice and turn in some books at the Bowie bookstore and then another nap then another meal. That’s one hell of a plan. But at the doctor’s appointment they said Reid wasn’t moving. Apparently, he was stuck because he couldn’t move anymore and they didn’t want to risk any problems so on December 17^th instead of December 26^th he was born into the world with a head full of hair and bronze skin.

Reid is a normal kid and did normal kid shit and he could do nothing wrong. It wasn’t until his first birthday when things began to change starting with his first seizure. I’ve never seen that before and I was shook. I mean it was fever induced but for it happen 2 more times within a year. I was on Google faithfully which is a huge mistake because I googled a headache and the next thing you know it says symptom could lead to brain exploding so fuck this won’t be doing that anymore.  Every now and then Quianna would ask me if I thought something was wrong with Reid and I would answer with ‘nah yo stop trippin’. But mothers be knowing for real and to hear that just rang the alarm but I kept hitting the snooze button because I wasn’t even trying to think about no shit like that. As he got older he was so fascinated with Vinko the Dancing Bear and it just kept growing and growing until one night he didn’t want to go to sleep and all he kept saying was Vinko and it brought me and Quianna to tears because we live in society where labels mean everything and no matter what there is always someone trying to create a label. See I’m his father and I didn’t want my son as a target of any kind and I damn sure didn’t want it to start at such an early age. I brought these concerns to my mom and dad and then the news they told me had me slumped like a cup full of lean. Apparently there was a point in time where doctors thought I would have a mental disability. I was about 2 years old failed some test doctors tried to label me and moms was like ‘fuck that my son isn’t mentally challenged we are going to work this shit out what resources are available”. I didn’t know that I went to 5 elementary schools before the 3^rd grade and was almost kicked out of 2 of them for behavior issues. There was one incident where a kid was bothering and I hit him with a chair and knocked out a couple of teeth so of course that’s not going to fly in these streets. Doctors made the suggestion that I should be in smaller classrooms and I guessed that worked because from the age of 7 until college I was in the Gifted and Talented Program in the Baltimore school system and now I have 2 degrees from established college with the emphasis on Engineering.

Fast forward twenty some years later, is this deja-vu all over again and now the student becomes the teacher. Reid’s speech isn’t as good as I would like so we reached out to Infants and Toddlers and did an initial evaluation and they had their concerns but the prognosis was very promising. See he has some strengths but he has some weaknesses. For example when he was one and got his first hair cut he didn’t move it was like the barber was sculpting a statue; but now he has some moments where I’m looking at him and my eyes are telling him, ‘son we looking bad as a unit-Kevin hart voice’. He doesn’t like his face washed or hair brushed but that could be normal kid shit and when the father is heavy handed maybe just maybe he wouldn’t like that shit either. There were numerous appointments with various professionals and they all came up with the same conclusion; there isn’t enough to say yes to autism but it isn’t enough to say no either. It was getting frustrating because there was no definitive answer so this cloud of mystery was over my head and consistently eating at me. Why my son man why anybody’s kid for that matter but I reminded of the mighty God we serve and realize that I’m just another soldier in the field of battle and my Commander hasn’t failed me yet so why would he do that now. One of the recommendations they implemented was a teacher visiting him at daycare once a week. I was unemployed at the time so I was able to go to all these appointments which could have been a blessing in disguise because now I see firsthand what the teachers are doing while learning techniques I can use at home. He was only 18 months old at the time but it wasn’t until we were at church when all these feelings came back up again.

He is in church school with the young kids his age and of course he has so much energy therefore he’s gonna run. But we have a lot of educators so they pick up on these things so after church she went and sat Quianna and expressed her concerns and when she told me in the car all I can do is break down man. I haven’t cried this much in my life but when it comes to my kids especially my son my emotions take over. It was like a punch in the gut because in my mind I’m like ‘damn yo didn’t we just do this shit 18 months ago now you wanna do it again’. I don’t want to keep subjecting him  to all these tests while they poked and prod at him like he’s an animal but then again I want to know what’s up with my boy so I can prepare him as best as humanly possible. I know there will be a time when I won’t be on this Earth to physically protect him and I know he will be on his own but until that day comes I want him to be as skilled as everyone put together. I don’t want any limitations put on my son. After lots of prayer and deep conversations with my wife we began the process of getting him tested again. I keep telling myself this is for the better so don’t let anything discourage you. Recently, we began this journey at Kennedy Krieger and it just brought me back to memory lane. I was so nervous sitting on pins and needles because one bad test and your kid is labeled forever (squintz voice from the Sandlot). In my opinion these assessments are entirely too long like we were in there for 3 hours and by hour 2 he was done. At first I was mad at him but then I began to think, shit I’m a grown man and after 3 hours of non-stop work I’m done too. After the evaluation she brings up back in the room and guess what….inconclusive results so back to square one but this time we have a meeting with the medical director and that’s when the diagnosis will be given

That day has arrived and I’m stressed. I’m nervous yet relieved at the same time because I just want my boy to be ok and if there is something wrong where are the resources because he will still have every chance every other kid has. She is a black woman which is refreshing and she does her question asking phase and it’s like a timer is set because around hour number 2 he starts bugging again and not answering any questions. In my mind I’m like ‘come on yo you buggin right now in front of the director though’, but what I didn’t realize is that my parental instincts were taking over because I would rather this happen to me instead of him. Anything bad that’s gonna happen I want it to happen to me instead of my son but Quianna held my hand and whispered it will be ok and from that moment I was ok. It was like God spoke to me through her and my whole aura went back to being even-keel. The evaluation is over and she says, “I don’t want to put a false label on this young man because he is the future and he has a chance to be great. There are some strengths but there are some weaknesses so I’m going to defer any diagnosis for one year but I strongly recommend speech and behavior therapy. As a matter of fact I will write the referral now.” See this diagnosis was different than the others. Sure they said the same thing but the conviction in her voice made it reassuring that if you do this he will be ok. In my heart I believe God was speaking to me again but this time using the medical director. It was like HE was giving us the blueprint and if we follow Him everything will be alright all we have to do is trust Him. There was a moment where I took Reid out and put him in the car but when the medical doctor and Quianna spoke it was another reassuring moment.

Medical director: “I’m a mother and I’m a doctor and with all the knowledge I have the one piece of advice I have for you is that there is only one true doctor and you know who He is so remain faithful”

Quianna: “I do know and I will do just that”

That exchange was something from a movie but when you get 2 mothers together powerful moments of candor and genuine expression begin to hit its zenith. We are on to the next step of this journey and I can’t help to think that I and Reid are both characters in the Inside Out movie (which is his favorite by the way go figure) but the emotions that we both go through are uncanny. I love you son and I pray for you and your well-being every day and hopefully I can see you flourish but son we are living in a wicked world and nothing is promised anymore. I will do the best I can but Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and never lean on your own understanding.

I hope this inspires someone because you are not alone. Who knows you may have resources that I’m not aware about. We are in this together and since it takes a village to raise a child let the village people unite. It’s imperative that we unite now because he as well as all of us are at risk to be hunted like an animal which is what most of the majority thinks of us anyway. You look at my son and you can’t tell nothing is wrong with him so if I can’t and I’m his father imagine what these other people are going to think. Son until my last breath you will be protected and even after that you will be protected even more because as an angel I would be more protective than I am now and that’s a scary sight. Save our kids save our lives.

Love you son…

I am getting into the groove of having two children. Let me be the first to tell you going from 2 to 3 kids is easy compared to going from 1 to 2 kids. Just throw the 3^rd kid in there and let them fend for themselves because mommy and daddy need a nap. Morgan was about 4 and Reid was about 9 months so I’m finally getting adjusted and Morgan is becoming more self-sufficient. Don’t get me wrong she aint fixing her own meals or anything but she can at least wipe her own ass. Don’t sleep wiping your own ass can save you a lot of embarrassment because that brown streak just aint cool my man.

So one day we are at church and the pastor is making her announcements and she says 3 of the church members and of course everybody looking at us and I’m like naw nigga it’s your turn. The church turned into a game of Clue trying to find out who was pregnant. A couple of my co-workers who were also members of the church so even at work we are playing the guessing game about who’s pregnant. Since it aint us, I’m introducing my wife to all types of liquor like yak, Patron you know the good shit not the bull shit. Weeks go by and out of the blue my wife says her mouth hurts and she’s going to the dentist. While she was at the dentist they ask about her last cycle and my wife like ‘shit I don’t know’. I guess because they were giving her medicine they have to make she ain’t pregnant first which is understandable. They give her the blood test and then the dentist comes back like,

Dentist: ‘yea uhhhh you can’t get this medicine today’

Quianna: ‘why I got insurance’

Dentist: ‘oh I know that but you are pregnant”

Da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaa. The plot thickens. So come to find out my wife is pregnant again and I’m about to be a father again. At my job we are playing the guessing game and I was like, ‘watch it be you Brother’ and his response was ‘yea right’. 5 minutes later I get a call from Quianna. I’m thinking she’s about to update me on her dentist visit and how she needs all the Coldstone, Progresso Soup and aspirin because her mouth hurt.

Sonny: “what’s up baby?”

Quianna: “I’m ok. The dentist visit was a flop”

Sonny: ‘why was it a flop?’

Quianna: ‘because I’m pregnant’

Sonny: ‘Man let me call you back…. Click’

Now before you think I was being rude. I just wanted some privacy because as I’m on the phone with her, my co-worker is instant messaging me asking how Quianna was doing and I didn’t want to tell her yet. I just hope Quianna didn’t hop in her GroupMe like ‘this nigga Sonny aint shit”. But I called her back and we talked and from there the excitement was in the air. For the record, I did look at the pastor with the side eye like how you know that shit and we didn’t know that shit…man she’s good.

I’m praying for another boy but deep down as long as the baby is healthy that’s all that matters. Choosing another doctor another hospital all the nuances in order for Quianna and I to have a piece of mind. Going to the doctor and taking all the pre-natal packets because my baby is going to be healthy and strong believe that shit. As usual, doctors want to talk about my wife weight which really gets on my nerves but I’m used to it and we just laugh because everybody is made differently so just chill and don’t fuck up.

Everything is going well until one appointment the doctors comes to us and says her stomach isn’t growing as fast as we would like which could create a small baby. See we didn’t have any problems with the other 2 kids because pre-gestational diabetes so now I’m on the edge of my seats like ‘what you talking about Willis’. After many questions and Google searches he said this is one of those scenarios we need to constantly monitor but as long as she goes full-term she will be fine plus being out of the stomach is better than inside if this doesn’t get any better. So that’s a sigh of relief and back to being my playful self.

Once again another appointment nothing out the ordinary just taking some blood making sure everybody is ok. Alright man you found the vein let’s get to work so I can get home and get something to eat. As we are waiting for the doctor, she comes into the room looking at a folder making all these facial expressions and I’m like what the fuck is that about what she got Tourette’s or something. Tell me something doc. Come to find out Hannah had a 7% chance of having Down Syndrome and we should consider terminating the pregnancy. I made sure I heard her correctly.

Sonny: Doctor you did say 7% correct, not 70%, not 93% but 7% correct

Doctor: Yes…Mr. Grayson

Sonny: oh aight well we keeping it then

Man I can’t lie that shit had me shook doe. I used to work with children and adults who had mental or physical disabilities and a lot of them had Down Syndrome but you never think that it can happen to you until it happens to you. So we ride in silence and as soon as we got home immediately prayed and cried this out. It was like something was just weighing me down because every appointment doctor kept asking ‘do we want the baby’ and deep down I wanted to say ‘yea motherfucker stop asking me that shit’ but I’m 6 feet tall about 315 pounds and I know somebody would of tased me if not worse so I keep my composure. After conversations with the Pastor we just let it go and gave it all to God and prepared for whatever happens.

Now 2 years later my daughter Hannah is by far the comedian out of the three kids and in the future gives me problems because she is so cute and is filled of laughter. She’s the cool kid that can be the sour patch but then sing a song and say I love you da da and then I forgot why I was mad in the first place. I love you Hannah. Reid definitely loves you Hannah so all you young 2 year olds just know she got an older brother with a temper and a father who is big as shit. I can’t wait to see what life has in store for you and to think the doctor wanted us to get rid of you. What was she thinking? Shit I don’t know either Hannah. Juice boxes, bubbles and some fruit snacks on me kid. Happy birthday Hannah Grayson