With Paul George forcing the OKC Thunder to trade him and force his way to the Clippers is it finally the time to trade Russell Westbrook and start over? We examine the pros and cons.
With one of the most shocking deals in recent memory going down last night, the OKC Thunder is now faced with a tough decision, do they trade Russell Westbrook and start the rebuild or push towards the playoffs with Westbrook at the helm. With Paul George requesting a trade to the Clippers, he leaves Oklahoma City left in NBA purgatory, where they are too good for top ten picks but not good enough to be a real title contender.
Oklahoma City is trading All-Star Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers for a record-setting collection of draft choices, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
Paul George reportedly requested a trade to the Clippers due to Kawhi Leonards recruiting as well as the discontent him and Westbrook had of what I assume to be OKC’s front office. Shams including Westbrook in that tweet indicates that he might not be happy with what the front office has done over the past couple of seasons.
Rival NBA teams have been aware of the discontent of OKC's two stars: Paul George -- and Russell Westbrook, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Leonard pushed the Clippers in recent days to deliver him a second star, and they did.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2019
A question many faced last night was if OKC is still trying to contend, or if they have realized that it might finally be time to hit the reset button on this team. Russell Westbrook, the heart and soul of OKC Thunder basketball for his entire career might be on the trading block, according to Brett Dawson of The Athletic.
To answer the question everyone is asking, yes, I would expect this means OKC is exploring Russell Westbrook trades as well.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) July 6, 2019
What are OKC’s options here? Do they go into rebuild mode, or try to run it back with the assets they received in return for Paul George? This question should be answered in the next couple of months before the season start, and it all starts with this, what are the pros and cons of OKC trading Westbrook?