Charlotte Hornets: Explore a Westbrook trade?
The Charlotte Hornets might need to make a big move in order to get out of being stuck in the lower tier of the playoffs.
The Charlotte Hornets had an okay off season. They brought back the pieces that they had to, but they lost some depth quality. They could be back in that middle ground of teams that are routinely just in the playoffs. That is a purgatory of sorts. The team is not bad enough to get in the lottery and not good enough to secure a home playoff series.
When that is the case, then only a big risky move will get you out of such a predicament. The Hornets are hoping that they will be able to use future cap increases to continue to build around Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker. However there is no guarantee that they can do that.
Therefore the Hornets could act before the year starts to rewrite their destiny. The move I have in mind was set up by Kevin Durant. Durant’s move to the Golden State Warriors severely hurt the future of the Oklahoma City Thunder who now have a new problem. They have guard Russell Westbrook and they know that he will explore free agency to maximize his value. Without Durant, he may not want to return.
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That would set up the Thunder to lose their second superstar in two years for nothing. The Thunder would prefer to get something for Westbrook, but they would have to make a move this year. Westbrook is making the old max and is only getting $17 million this year. That makes him far more affordable for this upcoming season compared to some of the deals that were signed in the free agency period.
So if the Hornets are concerned that they are going to be stuck again as a low playoff seed, they could offer the Thunder for Westbrook. The money situation would mean that the Hornets would have to trade Walker and Jeremy Lamb for Westbrook. To make it work the Hornets would likely have to surrender a draft pick or two. That alone might stop the Hornets from considering a one year rental.
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Westbrook is capable of being a triple-double machine and is a top level defender. He doesn’t shoot threes as well as you would like, but he would have no problem fitting in the Clifford offensive and defensive schemes. He could benefit from Batum the same way that Kemba did. There would be little concern if he dominated the scoring particularly as his total game has evolved the last couple years.
For Oklahoma City this is a fifty cents on the dollar situation, but Walker gives you an almost All Star level point guard on a doable contract to pair with Victor Oladipo and help the rebuilding effort.
In all honesty, I expect Westbrook to get moved this season. The two teams most likely to make that move are the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics have built up assets do something which has not yet materialized. The Lakers could package D’Angelo Russell with other players to try to make a deal.