What Would it Take to Land Russell Westbrook?

How much would the Boston Celtics have to give up to land Russell Westbrook?

Following the departure of Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder are in an interesting position. They tried to offer an extension to Russell Westbrook, however, to no surprise, Westbrook turned it down as he wants to sign a max contract next off-season.

That leaves the Thunder in a very difficult spot. They won’t be competing for a title next season with Durant gone, but they could still sneak into the playoffs with Westbrook leading them. Either way, Westbrook will have every team knocking on his door next summer, and the last thing the Thunder want is to lose both of their stars in back-to-back free agencies, while getting nothing in return.

Westbrook might re-sign with the Thunder and keep them afloat while they try to rebuild on the fly, but, if he doesn’t, the Thunder will look like fools for letting both of their stars walk. It would set them back a long ways if they don’t look into trading Westbrook this season and start getting younger. Besides, they’ve already started doing that by trading Serge Ibaka for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

Maybe Oklahoma City wants to take a chance on re-signing their star point guard, however, with the Thunder not a hotspot for free agents, Westbrook will likely be on the move next summer. The Thunder haven’t been able to attract the star free agents in the past, and now they’ve become even less of an option for stars. That won’t be a good selling point towards Westbrook who is still searching for his first ring and likely won’t want to spend the rest of his prime on a rebuilding team.

That makes a package of young players the Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers can offer more appealing.

While the Lakers would clearly have the advantage if they offered D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram, I have a hard time believing they’ll part ways with Ingram. Also, with Westbrook growing up in California and going to UCLA, the Lakers could be confident that they’ll be able to sway Westbrook to them next summer.

Now, after missing out on Durant, the Celtics could make a move for the star guard. While it does come with risk, it would make the Celtics true competitors against the Cleveland Cavaliers and make Boston a more appealing destination for free agents. I doubt Danny Ainge would give up the core of the team for one season with Westbrook, but if he agreed to re-sign with Boston next off-season then it’d be hard to pass up an opportunity to have one of the most dynamic players in the NBA on your roster.

Westbrook is one of the rare players who makes everyone around him better. While he’s mostly known for his scoring – 23.5 points per game – he is also one of the best passers in the game. Yes, his 4.3 turnovers per game is not ideal, however, he finished second in the league last season with 10.4 assists per game. He’s a playmaker, simply put. There’s not a better rebounding guard in the league, and, defensively, there’s few guards as versatile as he is.

It’s easy to fall in love with his thunderous dunks and his screams after finishing a big play. He’s the type of player who can lead your team deep into the playoffs if he has a solid supporting cast. In a way, Westbrook is the LeBron James of point guards. He does a little of everything and can take over games in the fourth quarter.

With that being said, it’s no surprise that Oklahoma City would love to try to re-sign Westbrook next off-season, but getting younger and trying to find their next star is probably the better option. And, the Celtics could help them do that.

While he only has one-year left on his contract, the Thunder would be giving up his Bird Rights, and basically be saying that they’ve moved on from him, ushering in their rebuilding stage. Also, being able to offer him a fifth-year next summer on a max deal could be the difference between him staying and leaving, therefore, Oklahoma City won’t give him up for nothing.

It would likely take Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart and the Brooklyn Nets 2017 pick to persuade the Thunder to let go of Westbrook. It seems like a lot, however, if he’s willing to commit to re-signing with Boston next summer, it’s well worth it as they likely won’t sign a player of Westbrook’s caliber next off-season, anyways.

Maybe gutting the team Ainge has been working to assemble over the past three seasons isn’t ideal, but Westbrook is a superstar who can bring the Celtics to the next level. Besides, they’d upgrade at the point guard position and still have an All-Defensive First Team member in Avery Bradley next to him.

Terry Rozier, who I think will end up as the better NBA player, can take over Smart’s role off the bench, and Jaylen Brown would have to step in and start right away. They might be able to keep Crowder – who many people are reluctant to giving up – and Smart, but Boston would likely have to add Bradley and Jaylen Brown, instead.

Either way, this makes the Celtics better as they’d finally have a superstar, and the appeal of Westbrook and Al Horford will help in free agency, as well.

For the Thunder, they’d get back a point guard they could build around next to Oladipo. Also, the potential Crowder and Smart hold should be very intriguing to them. Not to mention Thomas and Crowder are two of the biggest bargains in the NBA. Together, they’re set to make around $13 million in each of the next two seasons, with Crowder locked up for four seasons. It’s impossible to find that value in the new market, making them even that much more intriguing.

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Although, the Brooklyn Nets pick is what will speak the loudest as they’d have a legitimate shot at landing a future star next year. And if you’re trading a star, you need to feel that you have a chance of developing or landing one in the future.

While I would love to see Westbrook and Horford leading the Celtics, I don’t think it will happen. Ainge was reluctant to adding any significant assets to a Jimmy Butler deal, and I think he wants to keep the Nets high draft pick next season. Also, getting Westbrook to agree that he’ll re-sign with Boston is not a sure thing, either, which would surely make the deal fall through.

Next: Is Jae Crowder a Star?

The Celtics could always wait until the deadline, if the Thunder still have Westbrook, and try to snatch him away for cheaper in hopes of a deep playoff run. Although, Ainge seems content with the Celtics going into the next season, and will likely let it run its course in hopes of landing the number one pick in next year’s draft.

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