Westbrook Three Team Trade Idea
By now it's become widely known that Westbrook wants out of Houston. I've outlined a three team trade that should benefit all teams involved:
Charlotte Receives: Russell Westbrook
Houston Receives: Al Horford, Cody Zeller, Zhaire Smith
Philly Receives: Malik Monk, PJ Tucker, Nicolas Batum
Why Charlotte does it: Westbrook is the type of player that would never come via free agency, but now that he'd be in Charlotte, may make it a more attractive free agency destination. Westbrook is a work horse and a winner- something the Hornets need desperately. They get off of Batum's terrible contract and wipe their hands of Zeller, who has not developed nearly as much as they were hoping he would by this point. Monk is tough to part with, but the pros of getting Wesbrook while shedding the salary of the other two players makes it worth it.
Why Houston does it: They aren't going to get equal value for Westbrook, but this balances out their roster much better than is currently constructed. A lineup of Harden, Gordon, House, Covington, and Horford gives Harden more shooters in the lineup while matching up better against opposing offenses. Adding Zeller and Zhaire Smith makes for a much deeper bench. They don't want to give up PJ Tucker of course, but he's a bit redundant with Covington on board and Tucker has said he's unhappy with his contract. The Rockets may not want to pay him what he's worth.
Why Philly does it: They obviously aren't excited about Batum's salary, but it is approaching the end and it gets them off of Horford's longer contract. Monk (and to a lesser extent Batum) are exactly the type of shooters the Sixers need to space the floor around Embiid and Simmons. I'd bring PJ Tucker off the bench as a potential 6th man of the year candidate. New starting Five: Simmons, Monk, Richardson, Harris, Embiid. Their new bench would include Tucker, Thybulle, Korkmaz, Batum, Robinson. I'd personally try to package Richardson and Korkmaz to nab a traditional 3 and D wing, but that lineup looks pretty great as is.