Chicago Bulls: 4 reasons not to trade for Russell Westbrook

4. Westbrook’s better days are behind him

The appeal behind trading for Russell Westbrook is knowing that he’ll give his team his all every second that he’s on the floor. He’s as tenacious a competitor as the league has ever known and he’ll leave his blood, sweat and tears on the court.

He’s averaged a triple-double in each of the last three seasons, posting 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game in 2018-19. For his career, he’s averaged 23.0 points, 8.4 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game — astronomical numbers. Remember, he’s listed at 6’3″ and has averaged 7.0 rebounds, for his career. 

The downside for a Westbrook acquisition is that he’s played a ton of minutes in his 11-year career — 28,330 of them, to be exact. He plays every minute hard, and with his driving style, it’ll eventually take its toll. For example, 46.2 percent of his field goal attempts for his career have come from within 10 feet. He’s a hard-charging guard who has taken a lot of punishment.

Westbrook’s minutes are nearly 20,000 more minutes than what Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine (8,772) has on his resume, and almost 25,000 more than what Lauri Markkannen (3,702) has on his.

The point is, Westbrook has put in a lot of mileage over the course of his career. Of those 28,330 minutes he’s played, he’s taken exactly zero of them off. So how much more does he have left in the tank? How would he fit in with a Chicago Bulls team that is clearly not on the same trajectory as the former UCLA Bruin who will turn 31 years old in November?

The Bulls enter 2019-20 coming off a 60-loss season, while Westbrook is approaching his 12th campaign. The remaining years of his career shouldn’t be muddled by a rebuilding project like the one Chicago has undertaken.

Whoever he extends his career with will get a hard-nosed player who is hellbent on establishing himself as the best player on the court at all times. It just shouldn’t be the Chicago Bulls.