The San Antonio Spurs need to immediately trade for Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook would look amazing in a San Antonio Spurs jersey!
Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
I just read an article written by Kyle Spishock of Fansided and he disagreed with the San Antonio Spurs trading for Russell Westbrook. I think he fails to see the pragmatic vision behind the move if the Spurs actually make a offer and land Russell Westbrook. The first issue that I have with him his take on the Spurs system. He is right that the San Antonio Spurs are a unselfish team and Greg Popovich the creator of the amazing system the Spurs run. However he misrepresents Russell Westbrook with this quote, "Usually when Westbrook gets the ball, the ball dies in his hand, launching an average of 17.3 field goal attempts per game compared to 18.1 last season." Russell Westbrook had to be the scorer with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder had three strengths size,athleticism, and Kevin Durant.
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a offense in placed that heavily relied on the success of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. When they played their perfect basketball game they were really difficult to beat. I look at that roster and it amazes how well they did in the playoffs. I did not see Serge Ibaka and Andre Roberson solid three point shooting against the Spurs coming. However, for the most part the offense on the Thunder have always needed another scorer to take pressure off like James Harden for example. If Russell Westbrook wasn't selfish who else would you want to take the shots besides Kevin Durant?
If Russell Westbrook is on the Spurs he will learn the system and have teammates that can shoot the three and dominate the paint. The second issue the author claims it would destroy the Spurs bench. However, the Spurs will still have the pieces in place and they have young developing players that will be on cheaper contracts. I would rather have Russell Westbrook next year then most players on the market.
The third issue is the fact he thinks LaMarcus Aldridge is the only real piece that the San Antonio Spurs can really offer. Here is the exact quote from the writer. "Who else? Whispers are an LaMarcus Aldridge/Westbrook swap could be possible, which is asinine since it would completely compromise the front court". I completely disagree with this conclusion and I know that LaMarcus Aldridge will not be traded. Here is who I would offer if I was the San Antonio Spurs General Manager Jonathon Simmons, Danny Green, Tony Parker, Kyle Anderson, a first round pick for 2016, and a second round pick in 2017. I believe this trade will be mutually beneficial for both parties as the Spurs add another athletic point guard to the mix and for the Thunder they would have some great future pieces to build around. I think Bryn Forbes can be the next Danny Green on offense with his light out three point shooting. I think Davis Bertans is also really special and can be a great player for the Spurs and replace Kyle Anderson's role.The Spurs trading for Russell Westbrook with players they already have would become the favorite to win the finals in my opinion. The Spurs have what the Thunder had last year and that size and the Golden State Warriors chose to get even smaller.
The Spurs have Dewayne Dedmon, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Pau Gasol which is the best front-court in the NBA in my opinion. The only thing that would have improved them would be Tim Duncan not retiring. However, I hope they sign one more center to the roster to finish it off. I hope they can sign Nikola Milutinov as that would be the icing on the cake on one of the best front-courts in the league. The Spurs need to make a offer immediately for Russell Westbrook as he will be a triple-double-machine for the San Antonio Spurs. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out but at the end of the day I hope Russell Westbrook is wearing a Spurs jersey. Go Spurs Go Spurs!
By,
Kristopher M. Newcome
