The Washington Wizards were one of the most aggressive teams this offseason as they pulled off the biggest trade of the year, acquiring former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook from the Houston Rockets in exchange for John Wall and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick. 

Not only did the Wizards win this trade by a wide margin, but they may finally have a solid backcourt partner with Bradley Beal that can potentially get the Wizards back to their winning ways. Pairing Russell Westbrook with Bradley Beal gives the Washington Wizards one of the best backcourts in the NBA on paper, but things have not started off well for Washington.

Washington has not been successful early on in the year when both Westbrook and Beal play, which could be slightly concerning for the Wizards’ front office. They invested a lot of money and draft assets in order to get Westbrook and if things do not turn around quickly, they could be looking to trade away Russ!

It sounds crazy to believe, but Washington wants to win now and if Westbrook cannot get the job done alongside Beal, they may look elsewhere for someone to come in and play well alongside Beal. Russell Westbrook is a former league MVP and a 9x NBA All-Star that is still in the prime of his career. 

If Washington was to trade him, they could potentially get another high-level talent in exchange for him, which is why they could look to acquire a guy like CJ McCollum from Portland. While the Blazers seem to be content with the roster they have, as they are set up for a lot of success this season, McCollum’s name has floated around in rumors.

They are just rumors after all and they may not be anything at all, but it definitely makes you think about his future with the Portland Trail Blazers. Could they actually look to trade CJ McCollum for Russell Westbrook? It is unlikely, but let’s take a look at what this trade would look like.