Russell Westbrook was traded to the Lakers prior to the NBA Draft, though he told Tommy Sheppard that he wanted to remain in Washington if Los Angeles wasn’t going to be the destination.
“That was a very, very unusual circumstance where the day before the draft we were kind of spitballing some ideas and getting some input,” Sheppard tells FortyEightMinutes and other media in Washington. “I had a heart-to-heart with Russell and it was important to him that I knew and the Wizards knew he wants to play here,”
Sheppard added that Westbrook’s contributions during his lone season with the Wizards played a role in the front office assisting the former MVP in getting to his top choice of teams.
“If there was ever an opportunity with the Lakers, that would be the one place. I look at his Hall of Fame career and all he did for us, certainly, for me, I will try to help a guy as long as it helps the Wizards. In this case, we could do a deal and it did help the Wizards.”
Washington received Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and a first-round pick (No. 22 overall, which was eventually flipped for Aaron Holiday and Isaiah Todd) in return for Westbrook.
“If that deal didn’t go through, Russ would still be playing for us and we would all be happy. That opportunity presented itself and it was a great deal for both sides and it made a lot of sense for both of us. I wish him the very best,” Sheppard said.
More NBA Rumors
- Danny Green re-signed with the Sixers this offseason, though some of his former teammates tried to get him to sign elsewhere. Dwight Howard, who left the Sixers after one year to return to the Lakers, attempted to recruit Green to Los Angeles again and George Hill, who will now play for the Bucks, tried to get him to come to Milwaukee, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
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The Mavericks’ pursuit of Kyle Lowry indicates that the team believes it’s just one piece away from truly contending, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. Dallas wasn’t able to land Lowry but surrounding Luka Doncic with shooters was the team’s backup plan and the organization now has several players on value contract, including Tim Hardaway Jr. and Reggie Bullock, which could make future trades easy to maneuver.
- If Kevin Love aims to receive a buyout, he may have to give up a substantial part of his salary. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic hears that Love would likely have to consider walking away from $12-15 million if the Cavaliers were to consider a buyout arrangement. For what it’s worth, the power forward has given no indication that he’s willing to do that.
- Ben Simmons trade talks with rival teams haven’t gained much traction, as the Sixers believe the former No. 1 overall pick will be key to acquiring Damian Lillard should he request a trade. Lillard remains off the table in trade discussions at the moment, however.
- Kawhi Leonard re-signed with the Clippers on a four-year, $176.3 million deal and as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports notes, the former Finals MVP was always expected to return to the team and continue to be paired with Paul George. Leonard is expected to miss a substantial part of the 2021-22 season with his partially torn ACL.
- The Nets have begun discussing contract extensions with James Harden and Kyrie Irving, GM Sean Marks told the media (h/t Malika Andrews of ESPN.com). Marks said he is “confident” that Brooklyn’s three stars will be under contract long-term by the time training camp starts. The franchise recently inked Kevin Durant to a four-year, $198 million extension.
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