According to Sam Amick and Brett Dawson of The Athletic, the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons are now the frontrunners to land Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook:
“And while the mountains of money owed to Westbrook are known to have scared quite a few general managers away, sources say that Detroit and Miami are very real possibilities as potential landing spots for the 30-year-old eight-time All-Star.”
The Heat have already made it clear that they have a very real interest in the explosive point guard, and why wouldn’t they? Westbrook has averaged a triple-double through the past three seasons, with his best campaign coming during the 2016-17 season, when he averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
Miami is clearly looking to supplement its most recent All-Star acquisition in Jimmy Butler, and the only way to do that would be through trade, since the team lacks the current cap space to outright sign a big-name free agent.
Westbrook is set to make $38.2 million this upcoming season. A recently proposed trade had the Heat sending Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and a first-round pick or pick swaps.
We’ll see if Heat president Pat Riley has it in him to pull the trigger and rid the team of all its young assets for Westbrook.