Con of Trading for Westbrook: He is owed how much money?
There has been plenty of healthy debate among Knicks fans about the merits of trading for Chris Paul. We will avoid listing all of the pros and cons, but one of the obvious concerns is the amount remaining on his contract—more than $40 million in each of the next two seasons. As expensive as that sounds, Paul would look like a discount compared to Russell Westbrook.
The two-time scoring champion is set to make over $132 million over the next three seasons. Acquiring Westbrook wouldn’t just tie up cap space in the near-term, it would overlap with the window when the Knicks will be looking to sign some of their young players long-term while adding veteran help around them.
Mitchell Robinson is the most obvious candidate. The young center is due for an extension as early as this offseason. Whether New York locks him up in the next few months or waits until next summer, it seems likely Mitch will become more expensive by the 2021-22 season. Signing Robinson to even $15 million annually would mean the Knicks would have over $60 million of cap space committed to two players in 2022 and 2023 with Westbrook also on their books.
What if the team wants to re-sign Frank Ntilikina? As you can see, by investing in a few young players, on top of the fact that RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox, and the 2020 lottery pick become more expensive on their respective rookie scale deals each season, it would leave little breathing room to sign additional players in the free agent market.
Clogging up long-term cap space with a player who doesn’t turn you into a contender would be a huge mistake. And I haven’t even mentioned the cost in players or draft picks it might take to pull off a trade!
If the Knicks are looking to become a perennial winner down the road, building a bridge with Russell Westbrook’s contract doesn’t seem to be the most prudent way to get there.