Russell Westbrook (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
Despite the recent declarations from Oklahoma that Russell Westbrook is not available for trade, the entire league still awaits his decision on the contract extension.
The latest report on Westbrook from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is that the Oklahoma City Thunder is taking a bold move to offer a contract extension to Westbrook, similar to what the Houston Rockets offered to James Harden.
The Thunder is not going to let the situation drag out. They already rescinded their qualifying offer to Dion Waiters and risk losing him to free agency just to preserve the cap space to make the extension offer.
This move will facilitate the Thunder's "primary offseason objective" which is to lock-up Westbrook and eliminate his free agency.
The only caveat of this move is that if Westbrook refuses, that practically confirms his intention to leave the team and his trade value could drop (since the Thunder is in a position of weakness). However, what Thunder GM Sam Presti could bank on is the possible bidding war among the teams vying for his services.
Along with Westbrook is the risk that he might leave via free agency so teams need to consider their chances of re-signing. The Minnesota Timberwolves can offer a fair package to Thunder and from a basketball standpoint, they could be a team that Westbrook could re-sign with.
Team President and Coach Tom Thibodeau is no stranger to Westbrook as they worked together in Team USA and they have a young, competitive team. While the talk about Westbrook is that he wants to be in LA or New York because of the fashion scene and the glamor, one cannot forget that Westbrook is a fierce competitor and he, like Durant would also want to win a title.
The Timberwolves could offer quality players with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins as the untouchables. Earlier in the offseason, teams like the Chicago Bulls demanded Wiggins for Jimmy Butler in a trade offer and the T-Wolves correctly refused. Now they can go after a bigger fish.
As the season wears on, the Thunder will lose their leverage on Westbrook and Minnesota won't have to pay too high a price for him. The Thunder could take the players and assets in return and let Westbrook's free agency be someone else's problem.
In this scenario from Fox Sports, the Minnesota Timberwolves sends Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio and Shabazz Muhammad in exchange for Westbrook and Anthony Morrow.
Rob Perez of Fox Sports called this trade a "no-brainer" for the Thunder, and if the trade happens within the season with Westbrook not signing an extension, this is already a fair offer for them.
Rubio and LaVine could cover the point guard duties along with Cameron Payne with Victor Oladipo starting shooting guard (LaVine could also back him up). Shabazz Muhammad could get a big break to show his scoring capability as he could take over the small forward position.
For the Timberwolves, Coach Tom Thibodeau running with Westbrook as a mentor for Wiggins and Towns is scary-an actual rival for Kevin Durant's Golden State Warriors.
