Russell Westbrook: Should the Toronto Raptors Try to Make a Move for Him?

With the news that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continually butted heads during the 2011 playoffs many have began to wonder about Westbrook’s future in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City Thunder are a dynamic young team with Durant the clear King of the castle. Where does that leave Russell Westbrook?

Durant has made recent claims that there is no feud with Westbrook and that he hopes Westbrook can stay in OKC for a long time. If that does not toe the team line, I don’t know what does.

I am not going to pretend that the situation is worse than it is, but from all of this news, it is certainly volatile. Could this be the perfect time for the Raptors to swoop in and steal Westbrook from OKC?

When looking at the Thunder for a possible trade scenario there aren’t many different options available. They are set at all of the forward spots (albeit with limited depth) as they have Durant, Ibaka and Perkins up front.

Their shooting guard position is a little weak with Thabo Sefolosha manning the two. That being said, they do not need a dynamic scorer at the two when they have so many offensive weapons already.

So what could the Raptors offer for Westbrook? I am sure there are many different possible options available.

I would initially think of a deal like Bargnani and Bayless for Westbrook. The Thunder could use another very good rotational player at the 4 and 5 who can fill up the stat sheet in Bargnani (21.4 PPG in 2010-2011) and Bayless has shown that he can be a very good player.

When looking at the numbers Westbrook averaged 21.9 PPG and 8.4 AST. The Thunder could part ways with RW and get some scoring punch up front in the former first overall selection in Bargnani and Bayless could thrive in a similar role to Westbrook. This deal could make a lot of sense for both teams.

Other possible deals could include trading a draft pick or two, trading Ed Davis or Amir Johnson. They could even trade DeMar DeRozan straight up (One that I would like to avoid). Could you imagine a backcourt of Westbrook and DeRozan? Talk about athletic!

Either way, the point of this article is not to attempt to conjure up a possible trade, but ask if attaining Westbrook would be a good strategic move for the Raptors. (We all know it would cost an arm and a leg to get him, but would it be worth it?)

I personally believe that Westbrook can still improve and having the chance to be a go-to star on the Raptors with DeRozan and the young frontcourt of Johnson, Davis and eventually Jonas Valanciunas, this could end up being a very important move for the Raptors.

Come on Raptors brass, take some notes from Alex Anthopoulos, the Blue Jays GM and swing a steal for a young budding star!