Russell Westbrook (Photo : Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
Russell Westbrook may consider joining the San Antonio Spurs if the OKC Thunder wishes to win an NBA championship and take revenge on former teammate Kevin Durant.
The Thunder are likely to keep hold of Westbrook for the next season, but that won't stop the trade buzz surrounding the All-Star point guard. After being linked to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, a new team has emerged as a potential landing spot for Westbrook.
According to ESPN basketball analyst Jalen Rose, Westbrook should consider joining the Spurs for a chance to win a championship, a deal that "could possibly get done."
"If he wants to go to a team that has a championship pedigree, pack up right now and go to San Antonio. Because they have Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, the only team in the league whose forwards led them in scoring, they play a lot on the wings," Rose said via 247Sports.
"Now, you put him on the top of the floor, he led the league in triple-doubles, that would be insane. And Sam Presti is from the Spurs tree, he's really good friends with Coach Popovich. That deal could possibly get done," he added.
Westbrook running the point for the Spurs and teaming up with Leonard and Aldridge would be devastating. He could wreak havoc in the open court and would create a two-way backcourt tandem with Leonard, while Westbrook could also become the primary facilitator to either Aldridge or Pau Gasol.
But as much as it is intriguing to see Westbrook join the Spurs dynasty, the 28-year-old point guard may not be the ideal acquisition for San Antonio, as noted by Kyle Spishock of Sports Illustrated's Fansided.
"Westbrook's looks - and ball hogging tendencies - would disrupt the rhythm of a Spurs team that ranked fifth in assists per game (24.2), and take away from the supporting offensive cast," Spishock wrote.
Moreover, the Spurs do not have much trade assets that would entice the Thunder to send Westbrook to Texas.
With the Thunder witnessing the tail end of an era in OKC, there is a growing sense any deal would involve a young talent they can nurture into their next franchise player. The Spurs have promising young talents in Jonathan Simmons and Kyle Anderson, but none of the two are players who have already established themselves as a potential star in the league.
A three-way deal could work, but it would still cost the Spurs plenty of key players to make such trade deal into fruition. Plus, Westbrook has yet to give the Thunder brass any indications he would like to be traded, although the fact of allowing Westbrook to walk away and get nothing in return may convince OKC to budge.
Despite the Spur's rich history of consistently competing at a high level, there is a very slim chance they acquire Westbrook from the Thunder for now. And like other interested teams, the Spurs might as well wait for the summer of 2017 before attempting to bring Westbrook to San Antonio.
