NBA Rumors: Thunder expected to trade Russell Westbrook “sooner than later”
Recent NBA Rumors suggest that the Oklahoma City Thunder are about to trade Russell Westbrook, with the Boston Celtics the most likely destination.
As soon as Kevin Durant left for the Golden State Warriors, the Russell Westbrook rumors started to heat up. Now, it is becoming more and more likely the Oklahoma City Thunder will trade Westbrook prior to the 2016-17 season.
This report comes from Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, who cites rival general managers around the league.
“Not only do they think that Westbrook will get traded, that it will be sooner than later,” Beck discussed said in a video. “Probably before the season starts, and that the most likely destination right now would be the Boston Celtics.”
Thunder general manager Sam Presti is an extremely forward-thinking executive who is not going to be afraid to make a move if necessary. He lost Durant for absolutely nothing, and Presti knows the franchise is in serious trouble if the same thing happens with Westbrook next offseason.
Beck also talked about Westbrook’s upcoming free agency situation next summer.
“I don’t think anybody knows for certain what Russell Westbrook wants to do or intends to do, next summer. But that said, let’s just say there’s a very strong suspicion, a strong belief, among rival GMs that Russell Wesbtrook is not intending to stay,” Beck also reported.
If Presti sees the writing on the wall like the other GMs, I would be surprised if an upcoming move is not made. Losing Durant and Westbrook for absolutely nothing in back-to-back offseasons would be absolutely devastating to the Thunder organization.
Presti leads an extremely smart front office that has done an incredible job in the draft, but losing those kind of assets in back-to-back years would be difficult to come back from.
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Signing Westbrook to a long-term extension would obviously be ideal for OKC, but if he does not intend to stay, they may as well get as much in return for him while they can.
The Boston Celtics are would be an interesting destination for Westbrook. Danny Ainge has done an incredible job putting together a ton of assets in recent years, but he has yet to make the big trade that we have all been expecting.
Ainge landing Westbrook would be the huge trade we have been waiting for.
Obviously it would depend on the cost, but adding Westbrook to the mix with recent free agent addition Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics’ great role players like Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart would make Boston legitimate contenders to dethrone LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.
That being said, if Presti truly ends up shopping Westbrook, there will be teams lined up around the block ready to make offers.
Presti and the Thunder are in a less than ideal situation, but if they are smart and aggressive, they could end up landing a huge haul to kick-start their rebuild.
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