Should we trade for Westbrook?

[Skin]

Should we trade for Westbrook?

[GelbeWand09]

In theory Vuc is a perfect partner for Westbrook. He would be great for Isaac too, but i'm slightly no. This contract could be ugly soon & we aren't a contender with him. If its Gordon, Evan + Bamba maybe yes but no draft picks.

[MagicStarwipe]

Westbrook started his decline last season and with his lack of jumper plus his irrational belief in it, it could be a pretty steep decline. That coupled with what it will take to get him.... I'm going to say no.

[Skin]

Westbrook / Augustin / MCW
Iwundu / Ross
Gordon / Okeke
Isaac / Aminu
Vucevic / Birch

Bamba, Fultz, Fournier, Mozgov, 1st 2020 unprotected.

That enough? I'd do it.

But still it's hard to vote yes, so no vote atm.

[PrimeThyme]

I’m not going to campaign for it or anything but if December/February rolls around and Fultz still hasn’t put on a jersey for us I would consider it. The guy is a walking triple double and would be the playmaker this team desperately needs to get to the next level. Sure stars don’t necessarily like playing with him but it’s not really realistic to expect a star to come here in free agency anyways.

If the Thunder were opting for a rebuild I think something centered around Bamba could interest them.

[bargnanimvp]

I'd move AG for Westbrook

[Message Boar]

This is exactly what I was thinking when i was processing the Paul George news.

I mean his contract looks terrible, but he is 100% not available if his contract is good (which he might not be anyway), they'd just try to build a new team around him (which they might do anyway). At least Westbrook would bring some spice to our lineup and give us a ball-handler to put pressure on opposing defenses. But the reason there is some doubt in the back of my head is the same reason he could possibly be available in the first place.

[Hogified05]

Split on this. I lean no if we have to give up AG+Evan+Mo. That's a bit much for a player who will start to decline soon.

If we could get him for Evan+Mo+Moz(he is expiring next summer right?) I might be more inclined. Add Westbrook to the core left we are a top 4 seed I believe.

Finally. I love Westbrook's motor. But I think his motor runs too hot. There is a fine line he straddles and I think it gets in his way. He tries to do things he isn't very good at (shoot). I don't like how pissed off he gets at fans either. That whole Jazz episode, I saw two videos and worse I heard "get on your knees Russ" (he had ice on his knees). Then he proceeded to threatened the dude's wife. Not cool by Russ or the fan but Russ barely got a slap on the wrist, he literally threatened a woman. He can just rub me the wrong way. I'd rather keep the guys I like and can root for and be a middle of the road team, then guys I don't want to root for and contend. Been blessed to never have a guy on the Magic I just couldn't root for.

I still would push all season for Evan+Mo for Beal. Upgrading Evan for Beal puts us in top 4 convo. If Fultz is legit then we are contenders. 20 PPG 2 guard last year and we are a 50 win team I believe. Plus we keep Beal away from Miami. Plus Beal feels like he would dig Orlando, it's laid back, plus the Florida connection.

[pepe1991]

Bamba , Fultz and Mozgov for Wes works from salary perspective, just sayin'

[Hogified05]

Also I feel like if he does want out Minnesota is his landing spot anyways. Feels like Minny is done with Wiggins. Salaries won't be hard to matchup. Westbrook gets to play with Towns. Plus Wiggins is a nice piece for OKC to start over. Just my 2 cents.

[Message Boar]

Eh, Wiggins is a crap trade asset on that contract, I don't think Presti is stupid. We could outbid them, maybe. AG is a better piece (considering contract especially). It would also depend on OKC's opinion of Jarrett Culver.

You could expand the deal and do something structured around AG/Fournier/Bamba/Mozgov for Westbrook and Gallinari. I wouldn't want to add a whole bunch of picks to that if I'm Orlando, though. AG & Bamba + like 1 first rounder should be plenty for Westbrook on a dangerous contract and expiring Gallo.

A lineup of Westbrook/Ross(?)/Gallinari/Isaac/Vuc looks pretty legit to me (especially in the east). With a bench of Augustin, Fultz (fingers crossed on him), MCW, Iwundu, Frazier, Okeke, Aminu and Birch (who we would bring back in such a scenario). What is Briscoe's status, anyway? He is still on the team but injured, right? I could get excited about that, though ideally you find another defensive starting SG and move Ross back to 6th man.

Oh well, just another pipe dream.

[basketballRob]

I really don't like to watch Westbrook and once his athleticism is gone he'll be really bad.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[Bergmaniac]

I'd do it for the right price. He'd be overpaid for sure, but he'd be the best playmaker by far on this team. And most young players he's played it have nothing but praise for him even after they leave the Thunder.

But OKC will probably ask for too much, they need Westbrook as a draw to sell tickets and the fans will turn them against them if he's traded too after they lost Harden, KD and now PG13.

[Knightro]

For the right price, I say yes.

The Magic’s moves in free agency and the draft have made Bamba and Gordon expendable.

Both of those guys could be traded without the Magic experiencing an extreme drop off on the court at this point.

I’d start there and see if something could shake out.

[Knightro]

Financially...

Gordon, Mozgov (for contract filler purposes) and Bamba works for Westbrook.

[Maikson]

Nope, he has 4 years left? Too much.

Reasons:
- I agree with everything his haters say: shot chucker, stat padder, low IQ (specially on the 4th Q).
- After 1 finals appearance he didn't win with Durant, he didn't win with a MVP level season of PG13, how would he take our average roster over the hump?
- It seems that he only passes the ball to get easy assists to help his triple doubles, would he help the development of Isaac and Bamba?
- How will he play after he loses his athleticism? I bet it won't look good.

A positive thing would be his work ethic, he's a hard worker, changed Oladipo's mentality. Also we obviously need a PG, but I'm not a fan of him, too many cons.


If the team doctors evaluate Fultz as a player that can't be fixed, I'd do it Mozgov, Fournier and Fultz for him. Only a really lopsided trade like that would make me happy. Getting rid of Gordon, Bamba or Fultz (if he can recover from his injury) wouldn't make me happy.

[Xatticus]

I would have zero interest; especially if Gordon is going the other way.

Weltman keeps pointing out how young this team is, but I find that rather misleading. Gordon is the only young player on the team that has a substantial role at the offensive end. Our young players are all otherwise in specialized and complementary roles. Compare our roster to those of Atlanta, Sacramento, Indiana, Denver, Philadelphia, etc... and the contrast is stark. The veterans on these teams are the complementary pieces.

Dealing Gordon for Westbrook would probably improve the likelihood of the team reaching the playoffs this season, but it would essentially put a two-year window on a team without much of a chance to actually compete for anything meaningful.

Beyond that, it would trigger Vucevic's insecurity again. Trading for Westbrook would make this Westbrook's team. If you think Vucevic would be alright with that, you haven't been paying attention. This is the guy that went on radio immediately in the wake of the Biyombo signing to vocalize his concern about his place in the starting lineup. This is the guy that flaked out and put together a sh*t season after Hennigan traded for Ibaka before blasting him in an interview immediately after he was traded to Toronto. I really don't believe that Westbrook and Vucevic would be compatible on the floor or in the locker room.

[orlando1214]

Financially...

Gordon, Mozgov (for contract filler purposes) and Bamba works for Westbrook.

That's probably the highest I'd go. You have to keep the team as intact as possible for it to make sense. No reason to trade for Westbrook unless you have a team to make a run with. The East is pretty wide open this year though with no Kawaii with the Raptors and KD being out for the year. A team built around Westbrook and Vuc, with a solid group of supporting guys would have a pretty good shot imo.

With that said, I wouldn't sell the teams entire future on him like the Clippers did with that George trade. If that's the type of return they want for Russell, then I'm out. I'd be fine with throwing a first into a Gordon, Bamba package, but not five picks, four being unprotected, and also pick swaps, that's insane!

[yoyojw17]

Thanos might want to snap a finger by midseason if that attitude get away from him. Lol

[Howard Mass]

Not with his age and that contract.