New York Knicks: 3 outrageous trade packages for Russell Westbrook
By Duncan Smith
New York Knicks trade package No. 2
A trade package that the Rockets might like the most checks in at No. 2.
The main feature of this deal is that everything going to the Rockets expires after next season, giving them a virtual new lease on life as early as possible. That won’t come without a price for them, however. Let’s take a look at the structure of this deal:
The Rockets save $11.7 million for the 2020-21 season right off the bat, and all of Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Reggie Bullock and Elfrid Payton expire next season. This means another $29.6 million comes off the books for Houston going into the summer of 2021.
As for the Knicks, they get the best of all worlds. They extract max value from the majority of their 2021 expiring contracts, they get their man in Russell Westbrook, and they get both a 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick swap with the Philadelphia 76ers.
This deal will leave the Rockets with only their 2022 first-round pick until 2027.
Finally, let’s take a look at a trade package that flips our assumptions on its head.