Five Westbrook trades (Knicks / Wolves / Hawks / Mavs / Clips)

[Takuya Kimura]

Westbrook's value:
- A walking 25/5/5
- Can be a great addition to those second tier teams
- Value is at all-time low
- Lakers know it's not working out
- They have literally no other trade pieces (Maybe THT, Reaves?)

So I thought of a few teams that might benefit from buying the dip.


Knicks: Fournier + Rose + Noel for Westbrook
Knicks might be the team that most desperately needs scoring.

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Hawks: Gallo + Capela for Westbrook
Gives the Hawks a legit scoring option that fits Trae.

Mavs: KP + Powell for Westbrook
Sell KP at a high, buy the dip. KP is still a time bomb in terms of switchability and availability and I don't think he will ever become a 2nd option.

Clips: Morris + Kennard + Bledsoe for Westbrook
Gives the Lakers a small ball C and a great shooter. LAC next year would be terrifying.

Note: Deleted the Wiz since they cannot trade him back this season.


I know Westbrook's value differs a great deal among different posters but I kind of see the value in him vs mediocrity treadmill for many of these teams. Thoughts?

[Godaddycurse]

its illegal to trade westbrook back to wizards

[Takuya Kimura]

its illegal to trade westbrook back to wizards

I thought it was only for the first half season or so?

[Resistance]

There are other trade restrictions at the link, but am posting the one specific to Washington -- Westbook.

101. When can't a player be traded? Can players be given "no-trade" clauses in their contracts?

In addition, teams cannot trade players under the following circumstances:

A team cannot reacquire a player it traded away during the same season (a season for this purpose being defined as starting on the first day of the regular season and ending on the last day of the Finals). If the player was traded between seasons (i.e., from the first day after the Finals to the last day prior to the start of the next regular season), it cannot reacquire the player prior to the end of the next season. If he is waived by his new team, then he cannot re-sign with his original team until the one-year anniversary of the trade, or until the July 1 following the end of his contract, whichever comes first6. However, if a team trades a player's draft rights, it can reacquire the player during the same season.

[Resistance]

Hawks: Gallo + Capela for Westbrook
Gives the Hawks a legit scoring option that fits Trae.

Both Young and Westbrook are high usage players and Westbrook isn't worth much when he is offball. So I don't see them as a good fit.

[JRoy]

Westbrook fits Trae?

How?

How does LAL recoup value for the worst trade blunder in years?

[ejftw]

How many first round picks are the Lakers giving the Clippers for the Clippers to downgrade from Bledsoe (all things considered), while giving up a guy shooting 42% from three on 6 attempts, a perfect a small ball C and an essential expiring who pushed back his date to match up with any potential FA moratorium deals this coming summer?

[Takuya Kimura]

Westbrook fits Trae?

How?

How does LAL recoup value for the worst trade blunder in years?

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

[Resistance]

Westbrook fits Trae?

How?

How does LAL recoup value for the worst trade blunder in years?

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?


If I am the FO Exec for a Western Conference team potentially competing for a playoff spot/slot with the Lakers, I need to make sure that I am clearly winning the trade. I don't see enough (if any) win for the Minnesota FO to make the suggested trade.

[Soulyss]

The Lakers simply do not have the assets to move on from Westbrook who is a significantly negative contract at this stage of his decline.

There is only one contract that the Lakers might be able to trade Westbrook for... and it's happened before: John Wall

But Wall has just as many problems fitting with the Lakers as Westbrook does.

[Takuya Kimura]

Westbrook fits Trae?

How?

How does LAL recoup value for the worst trade blunder in years?

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?

Actually I see Westbrook as a great buy right now, since
- Superstars are usually not available at any price
- Stars are usually available only at a very hefty price
- It's not like small-market, second tier teams can acquire anyone better than Westbrook easily anyways.
- Westbrook's value is suffering from the lack of spacing too. It would be a totally different story if he plays alongside some combination of KD / KAT instead of LBJ / AD.

[ejftw]

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?

Actually I see Westbrook as a great buy right now, since
- Superstars are usually not available at any price
- Stars are usually available only at a very hefty price
- It's not like small-market, second tier teams can acquire anyone better than Westbrook easily anyways.

Westbrook is neither a star, nor a superstar. He's overpaid, nearing the end of his career and just isn't a guy that helps any of those teams. He has been atrocious all year.

[Myth]

It seems weird to me to acknowledge Westbrook as having all time low value, plus him having a massively overpaid contract, and then suggesting (just as an example) a playoff team like the Knicks should give up 3 important rotation players for him or a team like the Hawks would benefit more from Trae playing off ball to Westbrook. These just don’t make sense.

[Takuya Kimura]

It seems weird to me to acknowledge Westbrook as having all time low value, plus him having a massively overpaid contract, and then suggesting (just as an example) a playoff team like the Knicks should give up 3 important rotation players for him or a team like the Hawks would benefit more from Trae playing off ball to Westbrook. These just don’t make sense.

Westbrook is a 47mil expiring next year, he is massively overpaid, but not for much longer.

[Resistance]

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?

Actually I see Westbrook as a great buy right now, since
- Superstars are usually not available at any price
- Stars are usually available only at a very hefty price
- It's not like small-market, second tier teams can acquire anyone better than Westbrook easily anyways.

I ask a straightforward question about Minnesota and luxury tax. You talk about other stuff without answering the question.

Lakers

Minnesota


Malik Beasley...........$14,391,964
Patrick Beverley........$14,320,989
Taurean Prince.........$13,000,000
_______________________________
...........................$41,712,953


Russell Westbrook.....$44,211,146


It appears that Minnesota is increasing the team salary by about $2.5 million with this trade and they were already fairly close to the Luxury Tax Line prior to the trade.


Karl-Anthony Towns........$31,650,600
D'Angelo Russell............$30,013,500
Anthony Edwards..........$10,245,480
Josh Okogie..................$4,087,904
Jarred Vanderbilt...........$4,000,000
Jake Layman.................$3,940,184
Leandro Bolmaro............$2,353,320
Jaden McDaniels.............$2,063,280
Jordan McLaughlin..........$2,000,000
Jaylen Nowell................$1,782,621
Naz Reid......................$1,782,621

Westbrook..................$44,211,146
--------------------------------------------------
.............................$138,130,656


Luxury Tax Line..........$136,606,000
Team Salary...............$138,130,656
--------------------------------------------------
...............................$1,524,656


Minnesota would be roughly $1.5 million above the Luxury Tax Line and thus a taxpayer.


79. What roster size limits exist? What is the Inactive List? What is Injured Reserve? Do any other such lists exist?

The composition of the Inactive List can change on a game-by-game basis -- no less than 60 minutes prior to tipoff, the team must present to the official scorer a list of the players who will be active for that game. A player can be inactive for as little as one game. While individual teams are only required to carry a minimum of 14 players (13 active and one inactive, or 12 active and two inactive), the NBA also guarantees a league-wide average of at least 14.5 players per team (not including Two-Way players), however the average must be under 14.5 in two consecutive seasons for a violation to occur. If a violation occurs, then for the remaining seasons under the CBA the requirements for the number of players on teams' Inactive Lists increases by one

Will do a headcount to see if the roster is in compliance with the CBA.


Karl-Anthony Towns (1), D'Angelo Russell (2), Anthony Edwards (3), Josh Okogie (4)
Jarred Vanderbilt (5), Jake Layman (6), Leandro Bolmaro (7), Jaden McDaniels (8)
Jordan McLaughlin (9), Jaylen Nowell (10), Naz Reid (11), Westbrook (12)

Need to add two more players to get to the requirement of 14.

The Minimum Salary with zero NBA experience is $925,258 .

Will adjust downward to represent a payout for 35% of the season remaining.


Karl-Anthony Towns........$31,650,600
D'Angelo Russell.............$30,013,500
Anthony Edwards...........$10,245,480
Josh Okogie...................$4,087,904
Jarred Vanderbilt............$4,000,000
Jake Layman..................$3,940,184
Leandro Bolmaro.............$2,353,320
Jaden McDaniels..............$2,063,280
Jordan McLaughlin...........$2,000,000
Jaylen Nowell.................$1,782,621
Naz Reid.......................$1,782,621

Westbrook....................$44,211,146

Min Salary (35%).................$323,840
Min Salary (35%).................$323,840
--------------------------------------------------
...............................$138,778,337


Luxury Tax Line............$136,606,000
Team Salary................$138,778,337
--------------------------------------------------
.................................$2,172,337


After adjusting the roster per the CBA, Minnesota will be in the area of $2 million above the Luxury Tax Line because of Westbrook. I have the Luxury Tax issue alone making this trade for a Westbrook as a No Go for Minnesota.

[Warriors Analyst]

Trae is pretty good off ball and his range gives Westbrook the space to drive.
Having Trae also means the ball is in safe hands and decision-making is top notch, and Westbrook can lessen his workload for the non-clutch minutes.

As for how the Lakers are going to recoup the value, no I don't think there is any way, and these are the best fire sales that I can think of, from their perspective.

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************

Wolves: Beasley + Pat Bev + Prince for Westbrook
I am not sure about the fit with Edwards, but they have one of the greatest shooting big men of all time to stretch the floor.

Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?

Actually I see Westbrook as a great buy right now, since
- Superstars are usually not available at any price
- Stars are usually available only at a very hefty price
- It's not like small-market, second tier teams can acquire anyone better than Westbrook easily anyways.
- Westbrook's value is suffering from the lack of spacing too. It would be a totally different story if he plays alongside some combination of KD / KAT instead of LBJ / AD.

It's fine to believe Westbrook is a great buy, but all of these packages are overpays. The only teams that can make Westbrook work offensively right now are ones going 5 out on offense.

[Takuya Kimura]

We understand that this thread is done from the LAL POV, but the justifications for the other teams to participate come across as weak.

***************************************




Will Minnesota be at risk of being a taxpayer with this trade?

Actually I see Westbrook as a great buy right now, since
- Superstars are usually not available at any price
- Stars are usually available only at a very hefty price
- It's not like small-market, second tier teams can acquire anyone better than Westbrook easily anyways.

I ask a straightforward question about Minnesota and luxury tax. You talk about other stuff without answering the question.

Haha didn't know the calculations but thanks

[Tomjas]

I like the direction that Wolves are moving in as they actually have guys playing defence

Russ does nothing to help that

[JRoy]

It seems weird to me to acknowledge Westbrook as having all time low value, plus him having a massively overpaid contract, and then suggesting (just as an example) a playoff team like the Knicks should give up 3 important rotation players for him or a team like the Hawks would benefit more from Trae playing off ball to Westbrook. These just don’t make sense.

Westbrook is a 47mil expiring next year, he is massively overpaid, but not for much longer.

LAL is welcome to enjoy the benefits of Westbrook and his massive expiring contract.

$47 million for a tank commander seems a bit steep.

[giberish]

Westbrook is the sort of star who gets very awkward as he declines.

He really doesn't have any role player value. He's a poor defender (at this point at least) and isn't effective off the ball on offense. If he isn't operating in a high-usage star role he doesn't really help a team much (certainly not nearly enough to justify the payroll hit).

In his prime, Westbrook was good enough to build a good team around. So there wasn't really a problem (some issues of fitting with other elite players to try for a team that's better then merely good). Now there's a big problem as he doesn't makes sense anywhere.

No one is interested in building a bad team around an aging guy who used to be a star (bad teams want to feature youth as hope for the future). Trying to fit him in as a 3rd option on a good team is a problem as almost all of his on-court value is tied to him having the ball a lot - but do you want to take the ball out of the hands of better players??

In two years once his current deal is up he could find a useful role as a bench gunner (assuming he takes a contract to match the role and is willing to be a bench player).