Beck cites Presti’s willingness to trade assets such as Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka as previous instances where the Thunder were aggressive in dealing players before their contracts expired.
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Then, the best way for them to get something out of Westbrook’s plan to jump into free agency next summer is to trade him as early as now.
What I’m hearing in Las Vegas from some GMs is not only do they think Westbrook will get traded but it will be sooner rather than later, probably before the season starts, and the most likely destination right now would be the Boston Celtics. Boston has draft picks and young players they can part with.
° They could be more inclined to deal him before the season begins, in line with Beck’s report, since teams will be willing to pay more for a year of Westbrook than just a partial season of him. The chances of Westbrook staying with the Thunder past this upcoming season took a big hit with Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors. More importantly, the Thunder are not going to be trading Westbrook for anything less than they think he’s worth – which is a whole lot. You’d have to find someone willing to act as a third party to give up assets to make the Thunder whole in order to get compromised assets from NY back, but if you could, there’s at least a conceptual framework in place that this makes sense. And, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, there’s a very real possibility that Westbrook will be leaving during free agency following the 2016-17 season. But one season is a long way to go and many things could happen that might change Westbrook’s mind, given that his wish to play in L.A. was granted.
Just yesterday, The Inquisitr reported that the Celtics were having discussions with the Los Angeles Clippers on a deal involving Blake Griffin and the team has also been linked to trade discussions involving Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.
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Westbrook holds the point guard position for his current team, Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston has the assets – a young roster and plenty of draft picks – that Oklahoma City is likely seeking. For years, the Celtics have been in dire need of a franchise player. Other teams could put together strong packages – including the Los Angeles Lakers, who have always been linked to Westbrook and could offer up some combination of Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson – but as Beck notes, the Celtics could offer a similar package and still be a highly competitive team.
