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5 teams who should trade for D’Angelo Russell

By David Austin Bumpus

Mar 12, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric (9) during the second half at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric (9) during the second half at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 24, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket in front of Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket in front of Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell (1) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

With Russell Westbrook taking up a lot of cap space on an Oklahoma City Thunder roster that can’t fly much higher than it did this season, it may be time to shake things up by bringing in a different “Russell”.

With the rumors swirling about Russell, the Lakers may be the team to help the Thunder blow things up with their roster. Obviously wouldn’t be plausible to just send Russell, a player entering his third season in a few months, straight up for Westbrook, a player who just averaged a triple-double for an entire season. However, the Lakers have their number two pick to trade, and would get a star-studded player to rebuild around if they traded Russell and the pick to Los Angeles.

The Thunder don’t have draft picks to trade, but it wouldn’t make sense to keep Westbrook and trade everyone for Russell anyway. In the end, they could completely relieve their cap space, get a solid young star in the making and begin a true rebuild outside of the world of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The Thunder have peaked with Westbrook and couldn’t make it past the Houston Rockets with just their star point guard. In the end, it may be time to pull a Philadelphia 76ers-esque tank job and work toward building up a new, younger roster. It may take a couple of years, and it’ll take some money to keep Russell that long, but it’d be worth it in the end.

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