3 paths for the Denver Nuggets to acquire Russell Westbrook this summer
By Ben Handler
Option 1.) - Trade for Westbrook straight up
This is the cleanest and most simplistic option, to just deal with the Clippers and find a trade that works for both sides. This shouldn’t be too tricky because the Clippers seem willing to help Russ get to a good situation and they don’t seem to be asking for much - if anything in return. At this point, they’d likely be happy just to get Russ’ contract off their books.
The Nuggets picked up a $5.25 million traded player exception by sending out Reggie Jackson while taking back no salary. The Nuggets could simply use that TPE, sending it to the Clippers and absorbing Westbrook and his $4 million. That would be a smooth fit and easy business for both sides.
If the Clippers don’t want to do that deal things get a little trickier. The Nuggets have no available second-round picks to trade - they’re not dealing a first for Russ - so if the Clippers are looking for a little sweetener it would have to be in the form of a player. The Nuggets surely won’t want to part with a meaningful contributor but if push comes to shove, maybe they could throw in Hunter Tyson or Jalen Pickett (I doubt it, but it’s a possibility).
They could also trade for him without using the TPE and just matching salaries instead. The easiest way to do that would be to send out Zeke Nnaji and his $8.88 million. The Clippers may have some use for Nnaji as a backup big-man project, but then they would have to throw in more money to make the deal work.
Amir Coffey would fit financially, but he’s a player the Clippers like. The more moving parts, the harder an agreement becomes, but there are a lot of possible trade scenarios between the two sides if they are truly motivated to get a deal done.