It didn’t take long for the LeBron James lottery to heat up. As rumors continue to fly in every direction, Russell Westbrook’s name is being brought up in potential trade talks.
With all of the drama surrounding Paul Geroge and Carmelo Anthony this off season, who would have thought Westbrook is the player Thunder fans would have to worry about? But here we are. Welcome to the NBA offseason.
As they do every year at this time, rumors run rampant. The latest here stemmed from former Cleveland Brown Josh Cribbs, who tweeted James might be recruiting Westbrook to Cleveland.
Rumor has it @KingJames bringing @russwest44 to the @cavs #enoughsaid #cavs #2019nbachamps 🙄🙄🙄 👆🏾👆🏾👆🏾😱😱 #powerhouse
— Josh Cribbs (@JoshCribbs16) June 10, 2018
The rumor seems far fetched at first, but as we’ve learned in the past, anything is possible in the offseason. So before we discredit the idea, let’s approach this realistically.
Issue No. 1 facing the Cavs is their current financial situation. If James chooses to opt in to his final year, GM Koby Altman is on the hook for just over $35.6 million. Other large contracts include Kevin Love ($25.5 million player option), George Hill ($18 million), Tristan Thompson ($18.5 million), J.R. Smith ($15.6 million), Jordan Clarkson ($13.4 million) and Kyle Korver ($7.5 million).
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Perhaps there’s a team out there willing to take on Hill or Clarkson in a trade. But Cleveland would find it difficult to dump Thompson or Smith with their high price tag. And Love would likely want to come back knowing James is back on board. So bringing on Westbrook’s super-max deal which extends to the year 2023 would be a burden to say the least.
Before any of that happens, however, Thunder GM Sam Presti would have to be on board. It would require a desire from Westrbook to want out and a clear rebuilding path for Presti. Seeing as how Westbrook is committed to Oklahoma City and Presti has shown his loyalty to Westbrook, it doesn’t seem likely.
The Westbrook haters of the world might see this as an opportunity for OKC to clear the deck and start over. But if Presti was going move forward without Westbrook, he wouldn’t have signed him to the deal he did.