Los Angeles Clippers Receive: G Russell Westbrook, BOS 2023 2nd Round Pick (via CHA), BOS 2024 2nd Round Pick (via CHA)
Washington Wizards Receive: G/F Luke Kennard, G Patrick Beverley, C Daniel Oturu, BRK 2021 2nd Round Pick (via CHA)
Charlotte Hornets Receive: C Ivica Zubac
Assuming all goes wrong for the Clippers and they lose early on in the playoffs, causing some massive roster reconstruction to happen, going after Russell Westbrook and trading for him could be a real possibility. Los Angeles has always shown a fair amount of interest in Westbrook and have entertained the idea of pairing him with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Only this time, Kawhi Leonard could be out of the picture should everything go wrong for the Clippers.
Now in his 13th season in the NBA, Russell Westbrook has continued to silence his haters and has been putting up video game-like numbers this season in Washington D.C. So far this year, Russ is averaging 21.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 1.3 steals and is shooting 43.4% from the floor.
Not to mention, Westbrook leads the league in triple-doubles with 18, leading his former teammate James Harden by 6 triple-doubles. His athletic abilities and his pure skill is why he is still an elite-level player in this league and a player the Clippers could pull the trigger on should something go terribly wrong.
If they are to acquire Westbrook and his insane contract though, they will have to be willing to move plenty of players and rosters. This is why they would have to send a big package to the Wizards in return for Westbrook and why the Charlotte Hornets would likely be involved in this trade.
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Patrick Beverley, Luke Kennard and Daniel Oturu would all be on the move for the Clippers to the Wizards and big man Ivica Zubac would be on his way to Charlotte in this deal. Losing Zubac would be hard for the Clippers, especially given how well he plays his role for this team, but for cap reasons, he would need to be on the move for them to acquire Westbrook.
At this point for the Clippers, it is “championship or bust” and if they fail to reach the NBA Finals again, there will be some major changes to this roster, hence why this Russell Westbrook deal is not too far-fetched. Now let’s take a look at this three-team deal from each team;s perspective and examine if it truly makes sense or not.
