The NBA world was turned upside down on July 4th following Kevin Durant’s departure to the Golden State Warriors. As the Bay Area pops champagne, both Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook prepare for their first season without their former franchise cornerstone. Now a second-guessing Westbrook reportedly refuses to extend his contract, leaving Oklahoma City with tough options to consider. With no assurance that Westbrook will re-sign next year, the Thunder front office must be open to any possibility; even if it means waving goodbye to yet another superstar. There are undoubtedly teams that have their eye on acquiring the former UCLA Bruin. Rumors have already started, and at the right price the Thunder may be willing to bite.
Here are a few potential trade destinations for Westbrook.
The 2015-2016 season was a spark for the Boston Celtics, which continue to capture the spotlight this offseason. Signing Al Horford to a max deal makes this team a legitimate threat in the East, but it is not enough to make Lebron and the Cavs budge. Isaiah Thomas had a stellar season for Boston, averaging 22.2 points per game along with 6.2 assists, but the Celtics still haven’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since 2012. Boston has built a solid young core but is lacking a superstar to blend it all together. Pursuing a player like Westbrook will add the stardom fire power this team needs.
Boston is littered with future draft picks and has the assets to maybe strike a conversation with Oklahoma City. Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder are all under contract for the 2016-2017 and could be potential suitors for OKC. If the Thunder are looking to fully rebuild, then there is no better team to talk to than the Celtics. With Boston owning the rights to both of Brooklyn’s 2017 and 2018 first-round picks, there is a possibility they would be willing to part ways with at least one of those picks.
As the Miami Heat only begin to process Dwyane Wade’s move to his hometown Chicago Bulls, Pat Riley and the Heat front office will never look back. After an exciting start to the offseason signing Hassan Whiteside to a max deal, Wade’s wound on the Heat bleeds fresh on the team’s fans. What better way to seal that wound than by bringing Westbrook into the mix?
Heat point guard Goran Dragic is no stranger to playing a dual point guard system thanks to his time with Eric Bledsoe on the Phoenix Suns. If Chris Bosh can come back and stay healthy, a front court alongside Hassan Whiteside would create easy lane opportunities for an aggressively driving Westbrook. Bringing Westbrook to South Beach would help prevent the rebuild the Heat are desperately trying to avoid. The one problem for Miami in a scenario where they would try to acquire Westbrook is that they have very few trade assets left — the result of dealing two future first-round picks to Phoenix in the Dragic trade.
Entering the 2016-2017 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one the brightest up-and-coming franchises the NBA has to offer. Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, and now a high potential Kris Dunn highlight a young team that’s loaded with developing talent. Minnesota has been struggling to compete on the free-agency market this offseason with offers to both Pau Gasol and Al Horford failing to grasp much interest. As bright as Minnesota’s future seems, they still have no previous record to prove what they are capable of, and it’s hurting them on the market. Tom Thibodeau adds confidence to both players and fans but until Minnesota can show for it on the scoreboard, landing top NBA players will continue to be a problem.
Trading for Westbrook is a different story. Minnesota has been actively shopping Ricky Rubio for at least a year now. Throwing in Zach LaVine and a 2nd-round pick could be enough to grab the Thunder’s interest. The Wolves have been reluctant to part ways with LaVine in the past, but a name like Westbrook could be the difference. Without any assurance of locking up Westbrook long-term, Minnesota must be careful with who they are willing to cut loose.
LA Lakers
When it comes to franchise players finding a new home, the Los Angeles Lakers have historically been a landing mat. However, in this day and age, they don’t possess that same appeal. The only people surprised that Kevin Durant didn’t even schedule a meeting with the Lakers are the Lakers themselves. However, despite negative league-wide perception, nothing will stop the Lakers’ front office from pursing the stars of the NBA.
The Lakers have a litany of young talent that includes D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and now second overall Brandon Ingram. D’Angelo Russell had solid production in his rookie season, but it was his off-the-court issues that proved most memorable. Similar to Minnesota however, LA could be rolling the dice on Westbrook if they can’t come to terms on a contract extension. New head coach Luke Walton hopes to bring the same formula he executed for Golden State. The Lakers are determined to move forward from their worst season in franchise history and a blockbuster trade with the Thunder would be a big stepping stone. Westbrook is from the Los Angeles area after all; a homecoming always makes for a great story.
