Lebron still be their number one option and second is Davis so its hard for him to snatch the MVP this season since the ball rotation of lakers is not focus on him. Maybe if he can provide solid numbers to purple and gold plus he will be consistent on number of games played the phase will change then their management will decide to make him a number two option for them. So Westbrook really need to work hard this upcoming season since he have need to prove his worth for second time.

Or at times, it will be Davis, doing low post if they wanted to slow down the tempo a bit as a first option. And then when  they are running, Lebron could anchor or even pass to Davis as well or Westbrook.

But I do agree that it will be hard for Westbrook to be running for MVP, he should have crazy numbers, triple double and carrying the team in his shoulders. But it won't happen since Lebron and Davis are the top two options. Might be good for Westbrook to have good numbers though, as we all know that he is a statistics whore.

Maybe it's just an exaggeration on WB's part to hear him saying or at least speculating that he will be running for MVP this season. He is no longer in his prime and prone to injuries already and besides as others have said, either Lebron James and Anthony Davis is the first and second option offensively not him. There are even talks that he will be coming off the bench, as it might be Pat or Dennis as their starting five and not him. And so he will have limited minutes and so it will cut his contribution and performance so I doubt he will be even considered for the MVP race.

Sometimes management really has to put a dotted line to the current line up because it's not very successful. The thing with the Jazz is that in the regular season they are really that great team and could be in the finals. Unfortunately, even with a strong showing, they can't even go and advance in the 2nd round in the last 2 years even with a prime Mitchell and defensive player of the year. And now they have decided to disband that roster and start a new one. So we might as well expect Clarkson to be traded, if it is with the Bulls then good for them.

That has been their problem, they are good in the regular season but they struggled in the playoffs. Letting go of Mitchell and Gobert is probably the best thing to do, I guess they are into rebuilding and most likely players like Clarkson and Conley will also not gonna last in this team.

Schroder + Clarkson might be a bad idea to share the same court. One of them should serve as a backup role and not play together.

Clarkson + Westbrook is more effective since they don't share the role.

But this is just a speculation as their chemistry will just be seen once the season started.

Did anyone watch the game in Japan? Warriors vs Wizards.

James Wiseman looking pretty good. 20 points in 24 minutes.
The Warriors are looking pretty solid this season with the return of their big man. Then, there's Divicenzo showing some chemistry with the team.
Warriors at #1? What do you guys think?
If they can keep themselves healthy then it might happen.
On why Klay didn't play... here is a statement from Coach Kerr.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34695400/klay-thompson-sit-golden-state-warriors-preseason-games-japan

That said, I believe that the franchise will just let Udoka finish his suspension because their chances will get pretty low if they will find another head coach that will replace Udoka indefinitely, they cannot afford to have that much error especially now that they already got a strong roster that is already proven to work-out. I know the franchise doesn't want to give Udoka a whole season suspension but they don't have much choice because they have to set an example for the rest of the staff, including the players.

Blake Griffin just signed a one year deal with the Celtics. Seems like the Celtics are the team for veterans to try and win a chip with now. I’m not so sure they’re the team to beat in the east. I think the 76ers, Bucks, & Nets all have better teams, but with Nash being strict on the old guys maybe the Celtics are the only place willing to take the old ring chasers. Hope Blake has a good season. Last year was a bit embarrassing.

Jazz might be insane in thinking of trading Jordan Clarkson for Rusell Westbrook they could be out of their mind in thinking such risky trade, and yeah it doesn't make sense, they are building their old players, and getting Russell Westbrook now is a liability for their team, for me,, they will not trade Russell Westbrook to the young Jordan Clarkson that are still young and still have a ceiling for improvements,


If he was aiming for that then he would likely have a problem with it, he is not in his prime anymore, so likely to say he can not produce a number like in his prime, if this is real that he still wants a shot for it, then say goodbye to his career in the NBA no team will surely want him anymore, because he likely not producing any consistent gameplay, points I sure am no fan of Russell Westbrook, but all I want for him is to play it easy and become a matching strength with his team and not a fool who's still aiming for the impossible,