Boston Celtics: 3 “bad contracts” worth trading for this offseason

“Bad contract” Boston Celtics target No. 3) Russell Westbrook

Last, but certainly not least, we have Russell Westbrook, a player whom Boston Celtics fans will get a close-up look at during their upcoming matchup against the Washington Wizards in their first game of the play-in tournament.

Despite having been on three different teams in the span of three seasons (OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets, and now Washington), the point guard has actually proven to be unfazed by the constant turnover, attaining two All-Star nods during this span and, this season, finishing things off with averages of a triple-double (fourth time accomplished in his career).

At this point, his all-around impact on the court has almost become underrated, as the man is posting 22.2 points, 11.7 assists, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game and, seemingly, no one bats an eye (don’t say it’s “just padding his stats”, because you just sound stupid).

However, even with his stupendous production, should the Wizards come up short once again in the postseason (or just miss out on it altogether should they lose both play-in games), the front office could easily find themselves tearing things down in the nation’s capital, meaning both he and Bradley Beal could find themselves being shopped.

Recently, my co-Expert, Andrew Hughes, brought up the concept of the Boston Celtics trading for the star duo this coming offseason and, while Westbrook’s contract is quite a bulky one (signed a five-year, $206 million contract back in 2018), it seems like a fun idea to consider.

Even if a deal were for just Russ and not for both guards — say, in a 3-team trade that also saw Kemba heading elsewhere — it could still prove to be worth Boston’s while, for they could use for a change at the one spot and are in desperate need of a bit of everything, which is something the veteran does — a bit of everything.

A set-up artist who has led the league in assists on three separate occasions including this one and boasts a 42.7 career assists percentage, he would easily make the lives of both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown easier, as he could set them up in their preferred scoring spots for easy looks at a bucket, and dominate in scoring department himself as well.

The drive-and-kick potential for this hypothetical big-3 would be crazy, and his presence would almost immediately improve the C’s overall scoring production (currently rank 16th in points-per-game ).

While it may be a controversial take, taking a chance on Russell Westbrook could be the type of high-risk, high-reward gamble this sinking Celtics team could stand to benefit from.