Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin (Photo : Twitter)
The NBA trade rumors continue around Russell Westbrook and the two LA teams would be the most confident to re-sign him when he hits free agency.
The Lakers are always the pre-emptive favorites for Westbrook as they base on Westbrook's LA roots, as in this trade detailed here.
In the feature from ESPN Insider, the Lakers would get Steven Adams and Westbrook in exchange for a package including D'Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Lou Williams, Nick Young and Julius Randle. That would severely weaken the Lakers but make them players for next year's free agency.
But the LA Clippers can make a better offer that could make Westbrook a contender now. In a feature from Sir Charles In Charge, a proposal involving the LA Clippers could be the best scenario for both sides.
The trade involves Westbrook and center Enes Kanter going the Clippers. In return, they send Blake Griffin, JJ Redick and CJ Wilcox to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Westbrook is an explosive guard who can play with Chris Paul as a shooting guard but can also lead the team when CP3 takes a rest. Kanter can provide inside scoring and as opposed to DeAndre Jordan he can create his own shot.
During the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers used a twin-tower lineup with both Kanter and Steven Adams on the floor. Coach Doc Rivers can use a similar set-up if this trade happens.
SCIC writer Tony Webb raised the question of fit on his proposal. "The biggest question obviously would be could Westbrook play with Chris Paul. It possibly could fail miserably, but how fun would that back court duo be?! Also the Warriors/Clippers rivalry would get that much better."
Westbrook and Paul are both point guards but they are polar opposites. They both have strong motivations to win a title and with their talent and basketball IQ, it would be hard to imagine that they don't figure this out.
For the Thunder, they would get a hometown star in Blake Griffin who hails from Oklahoma and a shooter in JJ Redick. That means the Thunder can hand over the point guard reins to Victor Oladipo and Cameron Payne. Shooting is not Oladipo's strong suit and this is where Redick comes in.
Griffin will slide over as the alpha dog at the power forward position (used to be held by Serge Ibaka). While the Thunder will not be contenders, they can still make the playoffs be competitive.
