Under normal circumstances, a 9x All-Star 2x Scoring Champ, and 1x MVP would sell pretty high on the trade market.
In Russell Westbrook’s case, however, his value is at an All-Time low.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Lakers are going to have some real trouble moving their disgruntled star. Some NBA executives even questioned whether they’d trade for him at all.
When you look at Westbrook’s $47 million player option, no team is going to pay Westbrook anything close to that. If he wants to maximize his earnings, he should opt into that deal easily.
I asked a few NBA executives what they thought of Westbrook’s trade value now.
One NBA executive said, “Westbrook will still be viewed as a negative asset by most teams, but some teams might be willing to take on one bad year in order to shed three years of future money.”
Another NBA executive said, “Right now, his trade value is extremely negative. All it takes, however, is one team to be desperate to add talent and have bad contracts to make it happen. The reality is that 95 percent of teams view that as a terrible contract right now. They’re not doing that unless they’re dumping a bunch of stuff.”
The third executive said he wouldn’t trade for Westbrook at all.
Westbrook, 33, had what can be called the worst season of his career. After averaging a triple-double in Washington, Russ put up 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists on just 29% shooting from deep.
He was an abysmal fit with the Lakers roster and, now, is on the verge of moving to his fifth team in five seasons.
If the Lakers had it their way, he likely would have been traded by February’s deadline. Instead, he’s probably stuck there for at least another year. If the Lakers want to be competitive again, they have no choice but to try and make things work with Russ on the team.
