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New York Knicks: Avoiding Russell Westbrook trade was for the best

By Rob Wolkenbrod

PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 23: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on before Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 23, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 23: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks on before Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers on April 23, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The New York Knicks never had interest in acquiring Russell Westbrook, who the Oklahoma City Thunder sent to the Houston Rockets to continue their surprise rebuild.

When Paul George shockingly went to the Los Angeles Clippers for five first-round picks, it caused the Oklahoma City Thunder to start an unexpected rebuild and trade Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets to continue it. This was seemingly a chance for the New York Knicks to target a superstar, but they opted otherwise.

Per USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, the Knicks never had interest in acquiring Westbrook, with the intention of sticking to their rebuild and not trading assets.

While the Rockets sent Chris Paul and his big salary for the next three seasons, they also gave the Thunder first-round picks in 2024 and 2026 and the right to swap first-round picks in 2021 and 2025.

The Knicks may have had to unload their pool of first-rounders, which includes the 2021 and 2023 first-round picks acquired from the Dallas Mavericks in the Kristaps Porzingis trade. Young players like Mitchell Robinson and Kevin Knox are also assets.

Acquiring Westbrook would have given the Knicks their the star they were unable to sign in free agency. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard all changed destinations and went elsewhere, including to the Brooklyn Nets. Anthony Davis also went to the Los Angeles Lakers via trade.

However, the former NBA MVP was maybe not the face the Knicks needed, with up to four years left on the extension he signed through 2022-23, topping out at a $46.62 million player option. He will turn 34 years old that season.

Plus, there is the wear and tear of surgeries for Westbrook, who has undergone knee procedures. He still averages triple-doubles, but his player efficiency rating has tumbled from 30.6 in his MVP year to 21.1 this past season. The athleticism that drives his game can decline at any point, potentially making this an expensive decline if the Knicks acquired him.

Instead, Westbrook will run with his former Thunder teammate, James Harden, who has become one of the NBA’s best players since that 2012 trade. Houston missed the NBA Finals by one game in 2018 and lost in the second round in 2019, so with the Western Conference wide open for 2020, they have the chance to make this a successful partnership.

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Meanwhile, the New York Knicks can continue their rebuild and work towards a star signing down the line. Perhaps one of their recent draft picks become that. If possible, it will take time, but as this offseason has shown, crazier things can happen.

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