There was a poll on twitter that Jeff retweeted from some Celtics media:
Smart, Brown, and both 2017/2018 BKN picks for Westbrook yes/no?
If he's open to extending, I'd certainly do that.
If he's standoffish, probably not.
Interestingly, it sounds like Westbrook would be, according to the OKC media. They say he is open to playing in California or the northeast, because of his affection for the style scene.
Westbrook is not extending with ANYONE. That's not going to happen, so let's remove that variable from the equation. It makes ZERO sense for him financially, or anyone for that matter who can actually play, to accept an extension this season.
Everyone will hit the free-agency and take advantage of the increasing cap and maximum salaries next year. Further than that Westbrook is surely going to bolt to a team in LA, I can almost guarantee it.
Um, why?
Would an extension not be the maximum for five yea...oh wait, I get it. New maximum. [dang]. Wow. You're right. ****. That spoils a lot of options if you're right. But as a silver lining, it opens up a lot of one-year rental options. We have a lot of expendable assets.
Isn't the new max coming in 2018 offseason? I'm sure a team like the Lakers would take him if he agreed to a one year extension on his current deal. They will assume he'd resign with them under the new max. They can offer Russell, Randle, Picks and salary. Am I wrong on the viability of Lakers as a near future trade option? Doesn't concern me if the Lakers get him. So much building to do and no chance to catch Warriors...
I was listening to 98.5 when Mannix made his statements about the Celtics being in position to go after Westbrook ... and my head nearly exploded. This has rapidly become one of the most ludicrous diversions in this entire off-season.
As others have mentioned, financially it makes ZERO sense for Westbrook or any soon-to-be-free-agent to agree to an extension right now, no matter what team they are on, given that the cap is about to jump by ~11%. Agreeing to an extension now would cost Westbrook tens of millions of dollars. It's not going to happen. So we can just drop the 'extension' talk right now.
Second, because of that, any trade for Westbrook has to be done with the idea that he is a one-year rental. You should ONLY give up only nominal value for a rental unless you have a
very strong conviction that the player is likely to sign a new contract with you the following off-season.
Third, everything about Westbrook points to LA. He's a Long Beach, CA, kid. He loves southern cal. He went to UCLA. He has strong interests in the fashion industry. He bought a 4.65M mansion in Beverly Hills last year (
http://www.tmz.com/2015/12/09/russell-westbrook-scott-disick-home-photos/ ). So unless you are a Los Angeles area team, why would you have a strong conviction he will want to stay with you?
Fourth, the Los Angeles Lakers (one of the two teams that arguably might have a strong conviction that he would want to sign with them next year) will have a gigantic amount of cap space next year. They will have absolutely NO problem making a max contract offer for Westbrook. And that will be true no matter who Westbrook plays for between now and then.
All signs point to the Lakers being in position to not only make a strong run at Westbrook, but actually getting him easily.
The only other teams that might draw his interest on a personal level would be the Clippers (who would have to decide to trade Paul) or one of the NY teams.
Now, the question becomes whether the Lakers would look like a good enough 'basketball' destination that he would want to go there. After all, they are likely to tank again this coming season because Philadelphia owns their top-3 protected pick. The Lakers could look like cold gravy spilled on a dirty kitchen floor by the end of this coming season. Very unattractive.
But consider that they have just added Ingram on top of two prior top-7 picks and will likely add another next year and at that point will have a ton of cap space available to try to buy a complete turn-around. They will have no incentive to continue to be bad, given that Philly will own LA's 2018 pick out-right. Selling the idea to Westbrook that he could be the local, prodigal son that they build a new Laker dynasty around should be an easy sell.
All that said, I won't assert that Westbrook will not get traded. Presti will certainly not want to watch a second major asset walk away in free agency and not get _something_. But any team other than one of the LA teams would be stupid to trade more than minimal, one-year-rental value for him. Because they should have no illusions about keeping him. There are stupid GMs out there, of course. I don't believe Danny is one of them.
And frankly, for the Lakers, it makes more sense to tank this year and wait until next summer to go after Westbrook. If they traded for Westbrook now, they risk being 'too good', still in the lottery but not in the top-3. Which would convey that pick to Philly. They are better off being patient and trying to position themselves for a one-year turnaround next year.
Topic: Mannix on CSNNE/Toucher & Rich: Speculating Westbrook will be traded (Read 17264 times)