With the sudden turbulence surrounding the Oklahoma City Thunder, here are the pros and cons of the Miami Heat trading for Russell Westbrook.
To say that there have been enormous implications following the Los Angeles Clippers’ grand sweep in landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would be a massive understatement.
With Leonard signing with the Clippers as a free agent in the knowledge they were about to pull off an almighty blockbuster deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the future of a number of teams changed in an instant.
In addition to the Los Angeles Lakers, who had heavily pursued Leonard, and the Toronto Raptors, who were hoping to continue their partnership with the reigning NBA Finals MVP, it’s the Thunder who rapidly need to reassess their future. George’s sudden request for a trade completely threw the Thunder’s future up in the air, with their gathering of future draft picks likely indicating a complete reset of the franchise.
Oklahoma City is trading All-Star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a record-setting collection of draft choices, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
This is where Russell Westbrook comes into the equation. An eight-time All-Star, Westbrook’s career accomplishments simply speak for themselves. At 30 years of age, the combination of a suddenly reshaped roster, and the timeline of his career means the Thunder and Westbrook should reassess their now 11-year partnership, which ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reports they will do.
Enter the Miami Heat, who, following their acquisition of free agent Jimmy Butler, are naturally keen to pair him with another star moving forward. Having said that, a number of factors will need to be taken into account if the Heat were to seriously pursue Westbrook.
With this in mind, here are some of the pros and cons the Miami Heat will need to weigh when considering a trade for Russell Westbrook.