Report Suggests Russell Westbrook A Good Fit For The Miami Heat
With the Los Angeles Lakers’ recent acquisition of Patrick Beverley, there is a possibility Russell Westbrook will come off the bench.
It only opened more Westbrook trade rumors, with the Miami Heat among the teams mentioned. Some NBA executives and scouts strongly believe the Heat could have a shot at acquiring the nine-time All-Star according to a Fox Sports report.
With the season starting next month, Westbrook can still be dealt in a trade. Last year he averaged 18 points, the lowest since his first second season.
“Even then, team executives and scouts could only come up with one potential landing spot: the Miami Heat,” Ric Bucher of Fox Sports wrote. “Team president Pat Riley has a history of cultivating fiery competitive players, from Alonzo Mourning to Brian Grant to Jimmy Butler. He hoped that point guard Kyle Lowry would be the finishing piece to another championship-caliber team last season, but after posting the best record in the East, the team lost to Boston in the conference finals. Lowry, plagued by several nagging injuries, played in only 10 of their 18 postseason contests and was a shell of himself, averaging 7.8 points on 29.1 percent shooting. Depending on how this season goes for the Heat in general and Lowry in particular, Westbrook might be a worthwhile gamble."
If Westbrook is traded, the Heat will most likely have to give up a veteran such as Lowry.
"It makes sense,’ an Eastern Conference executive said. "Miami believes they can rehabilitate anyone."
Westbrook would bring the competitive passion the Heat covet and provide another player who can score off the dribble.
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Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter
