Although many of the big NBA free agency\/trade questions involving superstars like Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant have been resolved there’s still some player personnel drama to be had. One of the biggest remaining questions concerns the status of Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook wasn’t a name mentioned as being ‘on the move’ earlier in the Summer but the turn of events during the free agent frenzy have changed all of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Westbrook was reportedly happy in Oklahoma City and has no issues with the fanbase or organization. What he does have an issue with is playing for a team that is in ‘rebuilding mode’. The Thunder are clearly not going to win a championship or anything close to it with the current cast of talent. That’s why they were willing to move Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers to join Kawhi Leonard. Since that happened, however, Westbrook has sought a trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The verbiage that Westbrook, his agent Thad Foucher, and Thunder GM Sam Presti has been using is a bit more vague. The term they’ve been tossing around is that the three are working together to determine the ‘next steps’ as it relates to Westbrook. Basically, this is a way of saying that they’re looking for a trade without coming flat out and saying this is what is happening. This is something of a pre-emptive face saving move for Westbrook–if no one is interested in his services he can return to OKC for one (or more) seasons under the narrative that he never wanted to leave in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Westbrook has four years and $170 million left on his contract which means that a team that did trade for him wouldn’t have to worry about him pulling a Kawhi Leonard and leaving at the end of the year. For their part, the Thunder have already done a nice job stockpiling draft picks during this offseason. OKC has picked up six future first round picks in the past week meaning that they might be willing to let him go at below ‘market value’. The most frequently discussed destination for Westbrook is Miami–team president Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra have been very proactive in trying to build a competitive team for this season and now need some top level talent to put with recently acquired Jimmy Butler. The Heat are favored in the NBA special prop odds<\/a> concerning Westbrook’s 2019-2020 team and with good reason–he’d be a perfect fit and the teams involved are willing to make it work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n