Charlotte Hornets: Trading for Russell Westbrook would be disastrous

The Charlotte Hornets are rumored to be in the Russell Westbrook trade sweepstakes, but pursuing this opportunity would be disastrous.

The Charlotte Hornets have been the definition of NBA mediocrity for what seems like an eternity, and this offseason represents an opportunity to break out of that purgatorial existence. They have the third overall pick in the NBA draft and they’re one of just a handful of teams with cap space going into the offseason, having nearly $20 million to spend in free agency.

This gives them flexibility. That’s great in the right hands, but an absolute disaster in the wrong hands. For better or worse, we’re going to find out which category the Charlotte Hornets find themselves in.

Over the past few days, reports have come out that Russell Westbrook is unhappy with the Houston Rockets, and that he wants to be traded. In fact, it seems as though the opportunity to be the man with the ball in his hands means the most to him, and winning is secondary. For Westbrook, the list of priorities appears to be getting out of Houston, followed by having his own team somewhere else, anywhere else.

As with any major trade rumor, teams get cycled through the mill with different variations of possible deals. Eventually, usually, the team that ends up with the prized star isn’t even one of the teams rumored. It’s simply a tale as old as time.

At this point, it’s the Charlotte Hornets’ turn in the Russell Westbrook rumor mill, according to sometime-Stadium and The Athletic reporter Shams Charania.

The Hornets have the third pick and plenty of roster flexibility, and if Westbrook wants a team that is a virtual blank slate where he can make his mark with 40.0 percent usage and 28 field goal attempts per game, there may be no better destination for him than Charlotte. There’s no high-usage workhorse demanding the ball, and Russ can be Russ in ways he’s only dreamt of.

Imagine the kind of show he’d put on after playing James Harden’s wingman for a year.

Of course, while this might be Westbrook’s dearest fantasy, the Charlotte Hornets need to be prudent in their allocation of assets. Not to say they shouldn’t trade the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft, for example, but this deal isn’t the one for them.

Westbrook’s presence could only stunt the growth and production of the youth on this team, and now that they finally have something akin to clean books for the first time in forever, the remaining three years and $132 million on his contract would stunt their ongoing salary situation as well.

To say nothing of the fact that as Westbrook ages and becomes more injury prone, his contract will age horrifically. Even without getting into which players go back to the Rockets (Cody Zeller perhaps?), the Hornets will find themselves giving up a high draft pick, cap space and the viability of their youth movement for a player who can take them from a team that can win 25 games per year to a team that can maybe win 40 games per year, if health works in their favor.

It’s a bad bet, and it’s one that the Charlotte Hornets should abstain from.