New York Knicks: Trading for Russell Westbrook would be a huge mistake

Russell Westbrook is coming off an All-Star season, but a trade to the New York Knicks doesn’t make a lot of sense. So why are they interested?

At this time, a year ago, New York Knicks fans were starting to get annoyed by Julius Randle’s spin move and outright refusal to pass to RJ Barrett. Ah, the good old days.

I don’t think the Knicks should trade for Russell Westbrook. As a fan, I don’t want him on my team right now. It’s partly the three years and $132 million left on his contract, but it’s also his approach to the game. Russ is Wile E. Coyote, and he chases his next bucket like it’s The Road Runner.

Westbrook was voted to his ninth All-Star Game and named to the All-NBA Third Team last season. But it’s still a stretch to believe that at 32 years old and riddled with knee injuries, he’s capable of being the essential “first guy in the door” for the Knicks.

The rest of the league’s stars have great respect for Westbrook, but it’s unlikely that any of them are coming to New York to team up with him. The New York Knicks already went through that game with Carmelo Anthony. There’s no need to replay it again.

Westbrook’s playing style has always been polarizing. In case you hadn’t heard, the guy likes the ball in his hands. That’s a big part of why he wants out of Houston (paywall). So he can be the floor general again.

Translation: I want to do whatever I want. Whenever I want. All the time. Russ has attempted more shots than any other player in the league over the last 12 seasons, and he’s second all-time in career usage percentage behind only Michael Jordan.

But he was also the second player in league history to average a triple-double in a season, and it was the main reason he won an MVP. Then he averaged a triple-double again and again after that. The stat lost its value with every rebound gifted by Steven Adams.

There are many red flags on Russ, but one of the biggest in the case of a trade to New York is the impediment of Victor Oladipo in Oklahoma City.

Oladipo’s three seasons with the Orlando Magic were the perfect blueprint for what not to do when developing a young NBA player. The team wasted his rookie season at point guard before prioritizing Nikola Vucevic and inflicting Scott Skiles on their former No. 2 overall pick.

A fresh start with the OKC Thunder seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. Well, maybe Dr. Leo Spaceman. Oladipo attempted a career-high 4.5 catch-and-shoot threes per game and became one of the many ancillary characters on The Russell Westbrook Show.

Westbrook set the single-season record for usage percentage while Oladipo stood in the corner and watched like PJ Tucker. Oladipo attempted 110 corner triples during Westbrook’s MVP season. For context, he attempted 45 during his breakout season of 2017-18.

So why on earth would the New York Knicks want to trade for Westbrook? Despite the evidence against it, Oladipo appears to have gained something from his one year in OKC.

While Oladipo’s stock has taken a hit recently, in November of 2017, he was in the early days of his ascension to stardom with the Indiana Pacers. He told Bleacher Report’s Yaron Weitzman about Westbrook:

"“I learned so much from Russ. Just his mindset, how relentless he is, those are things I’ve definitely taken with me.”"

Channing Frye alluded to Westbrook’s toughness rubbing off on the young Knicks when he spoke to Knicks Fan TV. I can imagine that Leon Rose and Tom Thibodeau are thinking the same thing while considering a trade for the former MVP.

In fairness, Russ is coming off the most efficient season of his career. The supporters of this trade should be quick to point out his stat line of 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists with a career-best effective field goal percentage (.493). Here’s the thing though, that percentage still only ranked in the 30th percentile for point guards, per Cleaning the Glass.

And the Rockets still scored 3.9 points per 100 possessions fewer with Russ on the court. Something tells me Russ won’t be quite as accurate in New York without James Harden and nine million shooters to space the floor. Then-Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey needed to trade Clint Capela so Westbrook could have more room to be Westbrook.

The New York Knicks must prioritize their future, not Russell Westbrook’s present

Something like that happening in New York is entirely possible because when you get Russell Westbrook the entire team becomes about Russell Westbrook. It’s no longer about RJ Barrett or Mitchell Robinson.

It becomes about maximizing your chances of success while you have a demanding former MVP and future Hall of Famer on your roster. Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reported that Tom Thibodeau was pushing for the Knicks to make “win-now moves” and many attributed that to the Russ rumors.

But there’s a big difference between taking on Westbrook’s $47 million player option for 2022-23 and signing Fred VanVleet or Christian Wood. Both of those guys would help you win now without hijacking your salary cap (or your offense) for the next three years.

What Channing Frye is trying to say makes some sense — but I’m not buying Russ the mentor. Based on what we’ve seen from him in the past, it’s far more likely we get a repeat performance of his 2016-17 carnival season.

There’s a reason most TV shows are canceled long before they reach Season 13. The Russell Westbrook Show is on its last legs. It tried a reboot in Houston and that bombed. Now it’s looking for a new home, but New York isn’t the place.