Russell Westbrook Trade Rumors: Thunder 'Receptive' Toward Calls on Star PG

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in full rebuilding mode, and that means even Russell Westbrook could be available.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported Monday that "Oklahoma City for the first time is receptive toward trade calls on franchise star Russell Westbrook."

Per Charania, any trade talks will be a collaborative process between the player, his agent and the team. However, Charania noted that a deal could be challenging after the recent free-agent deals across the league.

The Thunder shockingly traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers, helping the latter lure Kawhi Leonard in free agency. Although this significantly weakened Oklahoma City for next season, the organization was at least able to kickstart a rebuild with five first-round picks, four of them unprotected.

The squad continued its fire sale Monday by dealing Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

After three straight first-round losses, it's difficult to expect much more success in the upcoming season even with Westbrook on the roster.

Trading the point guard could give a chance to start fresh while also clearing the rest of his five-year, $206.8 million extension—which began last season—off the books. Including a player option, the 30-year-old is signed through 2022-23.

This could make him difficult to trade, but some teams could be interested in adding an eight-time All-Star who won the MVP award in 2016-17 and has averaged a triple-double in each of the last three seasons.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported the Houston Rockets are one team that would have interest in a potential deal for Westbrook.