New York Knicks: 3 outrageous trade packages for Russell Westbrook

According to a report from The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, the New York Knicks are interested in Russell Westbrook if he’s available for trade.

The New York Knicks will never miss an opportunity to attach themselves to a star, and they’re doing just that with Russell Westbrook. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, they’re interested in acquiring him via trade if the Houston Rockets make him available.

Westbrook would bring a level of talent to the team that hasn’t been had since Carmelo Anthony departed the Big Apple, even though he’s in decline. He had a rocky season with the Rockets last year, but his post-New Year run until the NBA season was suspended in mid-March was spectacular, and the Knicks will hope he can replicate that performance if they do make a move to get him.

The Rockets will be eager to get off as much long-term salary as they can in any deal involving Westbrook (there’s no reason for the Rockets to make a deal otherwise), and the Knicks have plenty of contracts that will expire next season and provide relief.

How these teams mutually view the value of Westbrook’s contract will dictate plenty of the other variables in a trade. The Rockets are likely expected to have to incentivize any deal involving Westbrook, thanks to his massive remaining $132 million salary over the next three years, but if the Knicks REALLY want him, maybe they don’t require such concessions.

In any event, it’s unlikely the Knicks will have to send any high-value draft assets like the No. 8 pick to Houston. As for the Rockets, they don’t have their own first-round pick until 2022, so they are not replete with assets themselves.

We’ll take a look at a few different possible trade packages that the New York Knicks could send the Houston Rockets in a trade for Russell Westbrook.

New York Knicks trade package No. 1

The New York Knicks will need to send the Rockets enough salary to take on Russell Westbrook’s $41 million, and they can do so with contracts that expire over the next couple of seasons.

Something like the following package could do the trick:

The Knicks get Westbrook and the Rockets’ lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick, and in exchange, the Rockets get Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr. and Wayne Ellington.

For the Knicks, they get the perceived talent upgrade in Westbrook and add a future first-round pick, and the Rockets add shooting in Ellington, some size in Randle and a point guard to take some of the load off when James Harden goes to the bench.

To make this deal even more appealing to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, they save $8.7 million on this deal and Ellington and Smith’s combined $13.6 million in salary expire after the coming season.