Russell Westbrook Expected to be Traded Before Season Starts

Is Oklahoma City about to lose Westbrook and Durant, successively? Once this happens, he will be free to sign with whatever team he chooses. The NBA offseason just got even more intense. Since Durant has signed up a deal with the Warriors, Westbrook will have a chance to become an unprecedented leader of OKC. You lost your franchise player to your least favorite team, the Golden State Warriors. One of the favorable teams for him to join if he leaves Oklahoma City is the Lakers, since he is a California native.

Boston also has a negotiating advantage in trade talks, if the assumption is that the Thunder have to trade Westbrook.

It is not only the Lakers who are linked to Westbrook as of the moment.

But the Heat aren’t considered the most likely trade partners for the Thunder. However, it seems like the Boston Celtics are eyed as the “most likely destination” for the Thunder superstar.

The Thunder would obviously like to sign him to a long-term deal, rather than trade him. Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported a blockbuster trade involving one of the league’s most dynamic offensive weapons could end up happening “sooner rather than later”, with the Boston Celtics emerging as the top candidate.

The other seven teams listed as possible Westbrook destinations: Celtics, Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Rockets and Cavaliers.

April 9, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) pushes the ball up the court in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.

Given their deep pool of first and second-year players, along with an astounding 15 draft picks (incl. seven first-rounders) over the next three years, it’s not wonder Boston has emerged as a potential front-runner, should the Thunder be looking to blow things up and start from scratch. It’s merely what other teams are hypothesizing.

Talent is something that the Timberwolves have plenty of. Perkins helped the Thunder reach the NBA Finals but he was just another big body that offered not much else. Oklahoma City may want to receive a guard with star qualities in return for Russell Westbrook.

Beck, who is at the Las Vegas Summer League, keeps hearing from rival GMs that the Celtics represent his most likely landing spot.

That doesn’t mean that Pat Riley shouldn’t make an attempt to acquire the services of Westbrook at all. Those same people are beginning to wonder did the Minnesota Timberwolves get lucky when he fell to them at No. 5.