Westbrook Mulling Possibility Of Being Traded

Russell Westbrook and Thunder  GM Sam Presti are discussing the possibility of the franchise trading its longtime All-Star guard prior to next season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

While Presti could explore trades for Westbrook, his massive contract could prove difficult to move. He has four years and $170MM remaining on his deal, including a whopping $47MM player option for the 2022/23 season.

Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, are in discussions with Presti regarding his future with the team. Oklahoma City is now in rebuild mode after the surprising agreed-upon swap of league MVP finalist Paul George to the Clippers. George requested a trade in order to pair up with superstar Kawhi Leonard.

Westbrook signed a five-year supermax extension in 2017 to become the highest-paid player in NBA history at the time. That could now severely hamper Presti’s efforts to trade him. The Thunder have to assume Westbrook carries negative trade value at this point, ESPN’s Zach Lowe speculates. An executive from a contender told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon he wouldn’t be interested in Westbrook because of those salary concerns (Twitter link).

The alternative of retaining Westbrook and trying to remain a contender is an unlikely scenario for Oklahoma City, Wojnarowski adds. The Thunder are well over the salary cap with a projected salary tax payment of $43MM with the existing roster. They were already in cost-cutting mode prior to George’s trade request, Wojnarowski adds.

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