Really, you just need to look at his background to see where this stuff comes from:

Not sure you buy out contracts worth nine figures. Or at least, you don’t acquire them for that purpose.

That’s when they want them to be legit players. The West is spoken for until about 2023, anyway.

Boy, Chris Paul must really be an asshole.

You get eight first-round picks in a week, that’s a pretty good haul. Especially in the NBA where getting one or two players makes such a huge difference, the way they could package all of this to move up in one draft or something...yeah. I mean, it’s better than getting a bunch of contracts back.

It’s more likely than Russell Westbrook finding a jump shot. 

Alternate universe: What if the Thunder traded Russ in 2012 instead of Harden?

They’ll trade him. At this point, the value is not having Westbrook on their roster, throwing them into the luxury tax. So, they’re more motivated to get rid of him than they are to get the kind of deal they just got for Paul. They have to recognize the eight-ball they’re behind, and they’ll likely get some junk back…

I said this somewhere else, the smartest part about this from Sam Presti’s perspective -- assuming some movement of Russ and potentially a trade deadline deal for Adams -- is that he’s not only stockpiling picks, he’s doing it for a more open window in the West: 2023-2025. There’s no other way for OKC to build a…

Do we still get to believe Bernie’s Medicare for All lies, namely that all the countries he lists here don’t have private supplemental insurance? They all do, of course.

Jesus Christ, man. Don’t admit this stuff on the internet. 

He’s the only notable salary they can move, realistically. Bellinelli, maybe, but they’d need his shooting, and none of the kids make any money. Their backcourt is very crowded now: White, Forbes, Murray, Mills, Marco, Lonnie Walker...I would think two of those would need to go in this kind of deal. Which means it…

His knees are turning to dust. Passed on 52% of his drives in the lane last season, up 10% or thereabouts. Mid-40s dunk attempts last year when he’s been in the mid-70s for half a decade. He can’t get where he wants to go in the half-court anymore. His jump shot, as bad as it is, increased last season because it was…

Miami makes the most sense culturally -- on and off the court — for Westbrook. And in the depleted East, would help make them more viable. They’re not winning a title, but neither can 25 other teams.

Tempe was not responsible for Michelle Cusseaux. Also, Dalvin Hollins was 19. The 14-year-old was Antonio Arce.

Yeah, I don’t think you need airquotes around calling Gregg Popovich a genius, no matter how good Kawhi Leonard is. 

Gabe, I think you need a refresher on the history of our great nation:

I’m not criticizing him at all. I think it’s great that he got what he wanted, and that that thing wasn’t All The Money.

Absolutely. And with the “global game” aspect of the NBA now, in terms of marketing possibilities, even a Kawhi Leonard stands to make so much from endorsements/alignments that these guys don’t need the extra $15 million a year from the team any longer. Imagine that.

What he gained in leverage he lost in liquidity, I guess: Evidently, had he stayed in San Antonio and re-upped there, he could have had this same deal for $221 million. Now, just $141 million. But maybe he’s assured a percentage of the gate now. He ought to be.