Trade Packages and Landing Points for Rockets Guard Russell Westbrook | Launderer report

While it took a few more months to get there, it’s officially NBA trading season.

“Russell Westbrook wants to leave Houston ”, Shams Charania from The Athletic and Stadium tweeted on Wednesday.

A day before, The ring Kevin O’Connor reported that the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks may want to take on the former MVP.

Dealing for Westbrook won’t be easy, however. Even interested suitors probably see the three years left and $ 132.6 million left on his contract and feel a little uncomfortable.

It’s a monster engagement, especially since the game apparently makes it harder to build around Russ each year. He’s a ball-dominant guard (close to the most dominant ever, in fact) who’s never had a three-point above-average percentage and who hasn’t had a higher than average live shot percentage. the average since 2016-17.

This season, the Rockets were plus-2.4 points per 100 possessions with Russ on the ground and plus-3.3 with him. It’s not terrible, but no degree of negative net rating swing is ideal if it comes from your player over $ 40 million.

That impact changed a bit after Houston traded Clint Capela and completely overhauled the way he played to suit Westbrook. But if that’s what it takes to make him a positive player in the future, the asking price becomes even harder to justify.

Still, Westbrook averaged 28.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists for 75 possessions with a 59.2 live shooting percentage when he played without a traditional 5 in 2019-20. His career-high live shooting percentage for an entire season is 55.4.

If a team can convince this version of Russ to play every game, it might be worth playing, even at 32 and with that terrifying contract.

So what exactly would it take to have it?

New York Knicks

The agreement: Wayne Ellington, Bobby Portis, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox II and a 2021 second-round pick for Russell Westbrook

The Rockets may have first-round pick visions dancing through their heads, but those can be hard to come by in a Westbrook trade. Again, this contract is a nightmare.

If the Rockets hadn’t already spent nearly all of their draft capital on acquiring Russ last offseason, the teams might actually be asking. their for sweeteners to take the rest of his business.

Even without high-end project considerations, this particular business is helping Houston on several fronts, however.

New York is full of fodder to match wages. Wayne Ellington, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina and Reggie Bullock are all on expiring contracts. This means the Knicks can easily put together packages for big contracts in the league.

Ellington and Portis aren’t moving much (if at all) for the Rockets in the near term, but these expiring deals would provide financial flexibility after next season. And although Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox II haven’t lived up to their draft positions so far, they’re still young enough to be considered prospects. Maybe the Rockets coaching staff could tap into the potential New York couldn’t.

Meanwhile, the Knicks would take a risk here. Westbrook would make their cap situation much more difficult over the next three seasons, and a drop could be underway.

But if he has a few elite seasons left, he could perhaps bring back some excitement to Madison Square Garden, home to the league’s worst team in the past two decades.

Los Angeles Clippers

The agreement: Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Ivica Zubac, Rodney McGruder and Mfiondu Kabengele for Russell Westbrook and a 2021 second-round pick

It might seem like a pretty ridiculous race for Westbrook. It is sort of. But if the Clippers are really interested in him, they’ll have to negotiate just about every pay-matching deal they have (unless Paul George is on the table, which shouldn’t be the case if Westbrook is the target).

The huge increase in depth, return from a traditional center and a young prospect (ish) for Houston make the deal lopsided with no draft pick, but the Rockets are about as exploited as a team can. get. If they want that much, they might have to tie a sweetener to the gargantuan Westbrook accord.

For LA, that’s a scarier proposition than the Knicks trade is for New York. It would strip the roster of a player who may not be a perfect fit alongside Kawhi Leonard and George, both of whom demand possessions.

And if things don’t go well, the star forwards can withdraw from their deals and enter free agency in 2021, leaving the Clippers with Westbrook and the minimum deals they sign this offseason to replace transport to Houston. .

It’s hard to get a good idea of ​​why LA might be interested in acquiring Westbrook other than the idea that talent ends up getting things done.

Detroit Pistons

The agreement: Blake Griffin for Russell Westbrook and a 2021 second-round pick

Once again, the Rockets are the team that throws a draft pick in this deal. Even with questions about Blake Griffin’s long-term health, his contract ending a year earlier has some value. The second round balances that out.

Is that enough to convince the Detroit Pistons to abandon the rebuild they started by trading Andre Drummond earlier this year?

The Pistons shouldn’t feel hopeless about making the playoffs. Griffin just took them there in 2019. But a two-way game with Westbrook and Christian Wood, one of the best available players from the offseason, would almost certainly have Detroit looking for the playoffs in 2021.

The Pistons were plus-2.7 points per 100 possessions with Wood on the floor in 2019-20, up from minus-8.3 when he was out. And his ability to space the floor (38.6% on 2.3 three-point attempts per game) would fit well with Westbrook. He can move the centers out of the way for Russ readers.

On the Rockets’ side, beyond removing the final year of Westbrook’s contract from the pay table, it would also give them a player who would be more suitable alongside healthy Harden.

Griffin needs the ball as well, but he doesn’t dominate it like Westbrook does. And he has a lot of practice to play with an elite ball handler thanks to his days on the Clippers with Chris Paul.

Harden and Griffin’s defense of a headlining formation would likely be below par, but Westbrook isn’t a defensive mainstay either.

This trade would balance Houston’s list. And if the extra prize is a second round pick in a low draw, it’s worth it.