Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 potential Russell Westbrook trades

After trading Paul George to the Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to rebuild, starting potentially with a Russell Westbrook trade.

After appearing to be in win-now mode, the Oklahoma City Thunder have made the most drastic move of the summer. Late Friday night, they traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in a shocking trade, as first reported by ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski. In return, the Thunder would receive Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and a massive collection of future draft picks.

This sparks the question: Do the Thunder need to completely rebuild? If so, the first step in this is dealing eight-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook. Although this is an extremely controversial topic for Thunder fans, it is something that needs to be explored.

Westbrook, perhaps the most loyal player in the NBA, is the longest-tenured active player to play on one team. Drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Westbrook has played with the Thunder every season of his career since their inaugural 2008-09 season.

While Westbrook is still among the league’s best point guards, the issue is his contract. He is due roughly $171 million over the next four seasons. While this is in line with the same max contracts players are getting this summer, Westbrook will be 34 years old by the time he hits free agency next.

Wojnarowski reported again that Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti is working closely with Westbrook and his agent on his future with the franchise, including possible trade scenarios this summer.

While he does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, Oklahoma City will work with Westbrook on potential trade destinations and may not ship him off to just any team. Westbrook’s value on the market is unclear due to his contract, however, he is coming off of his third straight season averaging a triple-double and has proven he can single-handedly carry a team into the playoffs.

There are not many teams out there, if any, that would be open to a Russell Westbrook trade. This makes it tricky for Oklahoma City to make a trade that makes sense for them. More than likely, some of its newly acquired draft picks will need to be attatched in a trade to peak interest from other teams around the league.

As things are starting to heat up for the Thunder this offseason, let’s look at five potential trade packages for the former MVP.