LA Clippers: 3 reasons not to trade for Russell Westbrook

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HOUSTON, TEXAS – MARCH 05: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets drives to the basket while defended by Ivica Zubac #40 of the LA Clippers in the first half at Toyota Center on March 05, 2020 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Reason 1 the LA Clippers shouldn’t trade for Russell Westbrook: His contract

This is my primary reason, actually. Russell Westbrook is set to make $41 million this season, $44 million during the 2021-22 season, and then has a player option for $47 million during the 2022-23 season. Call me crazy but he’s definitely taking that option.

Keep in mind, Westbrook is 32 years old, so he’ll be making that money when he’s 34 years old with a game very predicated on his explosiveness.

The Clippers have both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard entering free agency next summer and all signs point to the team wanting to re-sign both of them. That is a ton of money to commit to just three players.

There’s also the issue of getting enough money together to make the trade. Unless the Clips plan on flipping PG for Russ straight up, they would have to sacrifice a whole lot of depth to get enough money together for a trade.

A sign-and-trade involving Montrezl Harrell might be a possibility but that requires Trezz wanting to go to Houston and mutual interest from the Rockets.

There are going to be a lot of moving parts to this trade with the contract being so large. Even if they were able to get every piece in place, taking that kind of money back just does not seem worth it.

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