Report: The Los Angeles Clippers And New York Knicks Are Interested In Trading For Russell Westbrook. What Offers Should Houston Expect From Both Franchises?

After a disappointing regular season and playoff performance by the Houston Rockets, the organization suffered dramatic losses from their staff, including Daryl Morey resigning and Mike D’Antoni stepping down as the head coach. These significant losses shocked the NBA community as the Rockets are a few pieces away from becoming a powerhouse in the Western Conference. Both James Harden and Russell Westbrook are Houston’s stars, but according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, he deems that one of these superstars could be more likely to be traded away than the other. 

“It is interesting the last 24 hours. I did have multiple sources that I trust tell me that teams believe Russell Westbrook could be had, that Westbrook could be had. And I’ve heard the Clippers have interest. I’ve heard the Knicks have interest in Westbrook. And whether anything materializes there, who knows? Who knows? But the fact is is that there is a belief that a guy like Westbrook could become available.”

This quote is interesting as Kevin O’Connor not only outlines a belief of Russell Westbrook possibly being traded but reveals which organizations have expressed interest in trading for the former MVP. A more alarming factor is how different both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers are as one organization is still in the process of rebuilding while the other is looking to contend. With these two organizations expressing interest in Russell Westbrook, which team holds the better offer? 

With the abysmal playoff run by the Los Angeles Clippers, general manager Steve Balmer wanted to trade away every player on the roster. From Paul George missing crucial shots to Kawhi Leonard not playing at the same rate as the 2019 playoffs, the Clippers early defeat is labelled as one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. However, their detrimental defeat was not due to lacking great talent, but more so, the lack of team chemistry. If the star player is missing every second game of the regular season while already having other roster injuries, how is an organization supposed to win a playoff series, let alone a championship? 

Throughout the entire regular season, the Clippers had an absurd amount of confidence that was ultimately their downfall in the playoffs. They viewed themselves as a playoff team and not a regular-season team, even though the regular season builds chemistry for the playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers won the championship due to having great talent while also exhibiting proper team chemistry. Ego’s never clashed in the locker room as the bond between LeBron James, and Anthony Davis was pure. The Clippers had the talent to win the Larry O’Brian trophy this season but miserably failed due to a lack of chemistry and a vocal leader. With all the criticisms that Russell Westbrook has absorbed over the last few seasons, he would help mesh the Clippers into a convincing contender as he is a vocal leader with heart and passion. The only problem with Westbrook is his unwillingness to sacrifice as he is, to some degree, a selfish player that would rather have the highlight over the actual win. This was shown in the 2019 playoffs where both Westbrook and Paul George played hero basketball instead of team basketball. They possessed the greater roster compared to Portland, and yet they lost due to selfish basketball and wanting the highlight play. If Russell Westbrook can become unselfish and sacrifice these highlights and statistics that he starves for, the Clippers would most likely become the favourites of making the NBA finals in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the Clippers expressing interest for Russell Westbrook holds an interesting headline, but they simply lack the assets to convince Houston to accept a trade. With the lack of draft picks and meaningful talent that does not include Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, this trade could simply never happen unless they do a sign and trade with Montrezl Harrell that would send him back to the organization that drafted him. Overall, the possibility of Russell Westbrook to the Clippers is simply a fantasy. While the Los Angeles Clippers lack any real assets to trade for Russell Westbrook, the New York Knicks surprisingly have a more attractive offer. 

For most people, 1973 is a blurred concept when it comes to basketball. However, that was the year when the New York Knicks won their last championship when Walt Frazier was the star of the big apple. Since then, the Knicks attempted to make some great rosters and had a chance to win a championship in 1994 if it wasn’t for Hakeem Olajuwon. After that, the Knicks suffered terrible turbulence with their championship endeavours and, as a result, are one of the biggest laughing stocks in the NBA today. For an organization to have so much rich history, it’s disgusting to see how poor this franchise is run. Even though Carmelo Anthony did provide some great memories and iconic moments, this organization deserves better hence why they are interested in trading for Russell Westbrook. 

The Knicks had a superstar when they possessed Carmelo Anthony, which did not seem too long ago, but that project quickly failed as the Knicks struggled to make the playoffs. New York has become so irrelevant to the point where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed to their little brother. Trading for Russell Westbrook may appear to be odd; however, this could be a start in building relevancy in the Eastern Conference. Westbrook will not be the answer to their playoff drought, but he would provide elite mentorship and a sense of motivation for the rest of the organization. As previously mentioned, Westbrook is a vocal player meaning that the rest of the roster would most likely feel his urgency in winning and would follow his tracks. This is a great approach if the Knicks want some relevancy in the NBA as they would trade Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr, and the 8th pick of the NBA draft for him if they want to avoid trading RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson. While this trade does exhibit some significant holes, the Rockets would attain a young power forward with potential that plays better in a reduced role and a valuable draft pick where they could select a valuable rotational piece. In contrast, the Knicks would finally have an All-Star calibre player that could be the start to a better future in the NBA.