NBA Trade Rumors: Pacers, Knicks, Jazz open to Russell Westbrook trade?

NBA Trade Rumors: The Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz appear open to a possible Russell Westbrook trade. 

As the NBA continues to remain in a transaction phase, there are many teams waiting to make a move or waiting for possible repercussions of a move. One team that is doing so is the Los Angeles Lakers.

The hope is that they are able to make a trade before the start of training camp but at this point, nothing is a certainty for the team. The Lakers have been linked to Kyrie Irving, Buddy Hield, and others. Though, nothing is reportedly close.

Another option for the Lakers is possibly moving Russell Westbrook just for the sake of moving him before the season. Westbrook proved to be a bad fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis last season and if the Lakers have any hope of contending for a title, he probably needs not to be on the roster.

It’s harsh, but that seems to be the consensus surrounding the team.

And according to a recent report, there are a few teams that will be willing to bite the bullet on Westbrook (who is on an expiring contract) if it means they are able to land an additional first-round pick or two. Those teams are the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz.

The Knicks could try to land an additional first-round pick to add to their pursuit of Donovan Mitchell and would likely be also interested in getting out from under Julius Randle’s deal. The Jazz is in an all-out pursuit for draft picks, so there’s no surprise there. And the same could be said for the Indiana Pacers, who are in the infant stages of a rebuilding phase.

That said, the expectation wouldn’t be that Westbrook would play for any of these teams. Should Westbrook be traded, he would either have to agree to a buyout agreement, would get waived, or find some other solution.

Either way, it would seem at this point, that there’s a good chance that Westbrook is not on the Lakers at the start of the season.