Jalen Rose suggests...

[whatdtcom [enjin:6685945]]

I wouldn't do it.....

Cause in ANY trade involving a top 5 or 10 player in the league----the team usually only gets pennies on the dollar for their star player. Just think, if you had to trade such asset (Westbrook), why on earth would you want to trade him UNLESS you had to knowing that he wants out. Of which, why would a team trading for him (potentially us or anyone else) offer so much when we know he wants out?!?

If he's willing to extend here long term, keep it low key and low ball the Thunders knowing well sign long term ANYWAY.

But I suspect that on the heels Durant leaving with ZERO compensation-----The Thunders are more then willing to take something rather then nothing for Westbrook. Likewise, you've gotta believe that Durant probably already made up his mind PRIOR to all those meeting. And GSW knew it.

Believe in Thibs guys! He will take a blank piece of clay and mode his guys into the player(s) that we need in order to be winner----not only for the Wolves organization but a big F*&# You to the Bulls for letting him go. I love it that he's being smart with his money now knowing quite well that if he develops our current guys-----that we are looking at perhaps 2-3 MAX guys (Towns, Wiggins and perhaps LaVine----look Conley got one, right?).

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

Westbrook is a great player. There is a reason KD left him though and that's because the offense doesn't have a good flow with him as the PG. I also think we are a couple of years off, making a trade for him now a poor move. Boston is the best fit and they may be wise to pull the trigger now without assurances of retaining him. If they trade Brown and their two other Brooklyn picks they would still have a team loaded with great role players and a great coach in a very weak east. They could challenge Cleveland for top spot. In return the Thunder get some very high draft picks, Brooklyn is horrible, and the Thunder draft very well.

Westbrook probably won't fetch his true value due to the contract, but getting some young assets and high lottery picks is a great return for a guy who will probably be leaving you anyways.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Assurances of resigning will be at the core of any such deal.

Teams just won't be dumb enough to put it in writing... Ahem, ahem.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I think this board is funny. Most on here would find a reason NOT to trade for every player in the league, whether it be KD, Paul, LBJ, Westbrook and on and on. It's fine that people love our core, but I just chuckle a bit when I read some of the rationale for not trading for top tier talent. I personally don't see the Thunder entertaining the offer listed.

[slimcalhoun27 [enjin:6640095]]

I'm with yah Hicks, Russel is a top 5 player, actually thought he was more important then KD on the Thunder. He will bring not only wins, but tenacity, NBA prime time opportunities and revenue out the Assssss to Minnesota. If it was a package of Rubio LaVine and future you pull the trigger now.

[AbeVigodaLive]

there was once a time when the majority of the board thought Rubio was better

[kekgeek]

Westbrook is going to be 28 and he's not the best teammate. I dont want to give up three much younger good players to get him. We'd have to give up too much and that's even if he would agree to extend.. I get how good he is, but OKC once had Durant, Ibaka and Harden and all have left. He's going to want to take tons of shots and I know some of the other Wolves may not like that. He shortens our window. Lets keep our core intact and let them grow into stars together. They are good teammates and when we are on the cusp of greatness, I bet there will be some very good players willing to take less pay to join our train.

If we really want Westbrook here and he wants to be here, wait one year and sign him on the open market.

I disagree with this take a lot. I understand not wanting to do the trade because of the fear of losing westbrook, but if he would resign you do this trade in a second. We would get the best player in the deal and I highly doubt Lavine or Dunn will come even close to a top 5 player in the NBA (that is no disrespect to both of them). If we added westbrook we would have a top 5 player in the NBA in his prime for at least 4 years and our championship window is now open for a minimum of 4 years and even when Westbrook is gone we hopefully will have 2 top 15 players in the league in Towns and Wiggins if everything turns out like it should.

I think you are underestimating how hard it is to keep this many young players on our roster, we need to look at things in a 4 to 5 year windows and not a 10 to 12 year window it is so hard to keep so many good young players together, and if our current core turns out to be good as we all hope I doubt we can keep them all together in the first place and it is super rare for players to take a pay cut in todays league. Look at the Thunder they have lost 3 of there top 4 players and more likely all 4 because it is hard to keep them together. Even look at the Warriors they needed extream luck to keep their core together with Curry having terrible ankles making his contract a lot less than the Max and having the cap jump now is super lucky it aloud them to obtain Durant and if they couldn't get Durant they were aloud to re-obtain Barnes where they would not have been able to do that in years past.


Like I said I would not do the trade just because Westbrook has a chance at leaving, but I think it is foolish to not cash in Lavine and Dunn for a top 10 player in the league (not just westbrook) because we are hoping our core turns out be as good as we hope. I mean we can open our championship window adding westbrook, while our championship window is still shut because we do not know right now if Towns/Wiggins/Lavine/Dunn will be good enough to get us there.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Westbrook is going to be 28 and he's not the best teammate. I dont want to give up three much younger good players to get him. We'd have to give up too much and that's even if he would agree to extend.. I get how good he is, but OKC once had Durant, Ibaka and Harden and all have left. He's going to want to take tons of shots and I know some of the other Wolves may not like that. He shortens our window. Lets keep our core intact and let them grow into stars together. They are good teammates and when we are on the cusp of greatness, I bet there will be some very good players willing to take less pay to join our train.

If we really want Westbrook here and he wants to be here, wait one year and sign him on the open market.

I disagree with this take a lot. I understand not wanting to do the trade because of the fear of losing westbrook, but if he would resign you do this trade in a second. We would get the best player in the deal and I highly doubt Lavine or Dunn will come even close to a top 5 player in the NBA (that is no disrespect to both of them). If we added westbrook we would have a top 5 player in the NBA in his prime for at least 4 years and our championship window is now open for a minimum of 4 years and even when Westbrook is gone we hopefully will have 2 top 15 players in the league in Towns and Wiggins if everything turns out like it should.

I think you are underestimating how hard it is to keep this many young players on our roster, we need to look at things in a 4 to 5 year windows and not a 10 to 12 year window it is so hard to keep so many good young players together, and if our current core turns out to be good as we all hope I doubt we can keep them all together in the first place and it is super rare for players to take a pay cut in todays league. Look at the Thunder they have lost 3 of there top 4 players and more likely all 4 because it is hard to keep them together. Even look at the Warriors they needed extream luck to keep their core together with Curry having terrible ankles making his contract a lot less than the Max and having the cap jump now is super lucky it aloud them to obtain Durant and if they couldn't get Durant they were aloud to re-obtain Barnes where they would not have been able to do that in years past.


Like I said I would not do the trade just because Westbrook has a chance at leaving, but I think it is foolish to not cash in Lavine and Dunn for a top 10 player in the league (not just westbrook) because we are hoping our core turns out be as good as we hope. I mean we can open our championship window adding westbrook, while our championship window is still shut because we do not know right now if Towns/Wiggins/Lavine/Dunn will be good enough to get us there.

Adding Westbrook doesn't open our championship window now. The rest of our core roster has no playoff experience and Towns and Wiggins are still a few years a way from the start of their primes. Westbrook will be 30 by the time our window opens and given the way he plays it's going to go downhill quickly when he starts losing a step because he dominates because of his athletic advantage right now. That gives us a 2-3 year window before he starts dropping off. That's a small window to commit to right now and if we really want him and he really wants to be here we can just sign him next year into cap space without having to give up two really good assets right now. Sure you may have to give up one or both in the future but they'll return other assets that can support the Westbrook/Wiggins/Towns big 3. If you can trade for him with a guaranteed extension there's no point trading for him because that already signifies he'd be willing to come here in the first place and we could just sign him and keep our assets which would make us even more attractive to get him/keep him.

[Monster]

I think someday in the future we will look back and be very glad we didn't trade Lavine.

[TAFKASP]

I think someday in the future we will look back and be very glad we didn't trade Lavine.

The thing about Lavine is he doesn't seem clueless as much as just inexperienced. I think the odds Lavine actually reaches his potential, or most of it, are pretty high. Compare Zach to previous Wolves high draft picks like DWill and Wes "That Smile" Johnson and they really were different, DWill was just plain cluess while both he and That Smile didn't appear to care enough to work hard. We've seen pretty steady improvement from Lavine from year one to the end of year two where DWill and That Smile pretty much were the same when they left as what they were when they arrived.

To my very undiscerning basketball eye that is why I'm very reluctant to let him go. Given the history of flameouts for the Wolves you would think we'd be on the edge of our seats ready to trade for proven talent, but it's just not the same old story with Lavine IMO.