Oklahoma City Thunder: After losing Paul George, it’s time to blow it up
After trading Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s probably time for the Oklahoma City Thunder to trade Russell Westbrook
Since the start of free agency – punctuated with two moves that took place over the last 24 hours – we’ve seen some historic NBA movement. The likes that only rivals the free agency period of 2010.
The latest move, and arguably the biggest needle mover of the summer, centered around the Los Angeles Clippers getting a free agency commitment from Kawhi Leonard and then acquiring Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Los Angeles won the Kawhi sweepstakes and then trading for one of the best 7 players in the NBA, via four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick, and two pick swaps, along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.
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While this is certainly a power move on the part of the Clippers, it leaves the Thunder in an awkward situation. They’re now best to the Russell Westbrook (only) show, and the last time we saw that it only paid off in a first-round playoff exit – certainly not something the Thunder would be interested in repeating, with an older Russ.
So, with little-to-no firepower to surround Russ with another NBA star, it could lead OKC to trade away both Westbrook and Steven Adams (the other big money player on their roster) in an attempt to hit the reset button. Which, considering how far behind the Thunder is compared to other Western Conference teams, might be the best course of action moving forward.
And there are already whispers that it might be the pivot from OKC.
"[via ESPN]Oklahoma City All-Star guard Russell Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, are engaged with Thunder general manager Sam Presti about the next steps of Westbrook’s career, including the possibility of a trade before the start of next season, league sources told ESPN.The Thunder could rework the roster to try to remain competitive around Westbrook and Steven Adams, although that scenario is unlikely."
There’s really one big problem, though, if the Thunder decide that it’s time to blow it up. It’s the fact that Westbrook is on the wrong side of 30, and in the midst of one of the more expensive contracts in the league.
Westbrook will be 31 years old and has four years remaining on his current deal (with a player option for the 2022-23 season). Over those four years, he’s set to earn roughly $205 million and it increases roughly $3 million each season.
Even though Westbrook is a dynamic player with star power, the trade market for him might not be as vast as many think. There probably won’t be too many teams out there willing to offer prime assets for Westbrook, who at times is one of the most inefficient stars in the league.
Westbrook is coming off a season in which he shot 43 percent shooting from the field and a putrid 29 percent from 3-point range. In a league where the 3-point shot is becoming increasingly important, Russ is not the ideal point guard that you’re looking for.
With that said, it’s also not like there won’t be a market at all. Teams that are desperate for a first – or even second star – could get in on the Russ sweepstakes. A few teams that could emerge as fits are the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Washington Wizards.
Next. Los Angeles Clippers: Kawhi Leonard shifts the power with one decision. dark
It’s now on the Oklahoma City Thunder to decide what the next move should be. However, from the optics of it all, it’s probably time to move on and hit the reset button.