Should the Dallas Mavericks trade for Russell Westbrook?

Case for the Dallas Mavericks trading for Russell Westbrook

The Mavs would only be interested in the future first-round picks as trade capital. They owe their 2023 first-round pick to the Knicks from the original Kristaps Porzingis. If the top-ten protected selection conveys next summer, the Mavericks have all their own selections to trade away. Getting two more from Los Angeles gives them a strong haul to offer when the next star player becomes available.

Trading for Russell Westbrook also allows the Mavericks to dump the contracts of Davis Bertans and Tim Hardaway Jr. Both can be productive role players, but they are overpaid. Sending those two packing will open up some cap space for Dallas next summer, and it gives them more flexibility moving forward to build their roster around Luka Doncic.

The Mavs are not trading for Westbrook to play him next to Luka. That is a nightmare fit as Westbrook needs the ball in his hands to be effective, but Doncic is the best offensive creator in the league. Why would the Mavericks take the ball out of Luka’s hands to let Westbrook run the show?

The only reason the Dallas Mavericks would trade for Russell Westbrook is to improve their chances of landing a star player next summer when they can offer a massive haul of draft selections.