It has been reported on numerous occasions that the Lakers would like to trade Russell Westbrook before the start of the season.
The former NBA MVP is set to earn $47 million next season which pushes back most of the teams that would otherwise be interested in trading for him.
Only a handful of teams have been mentioned in the media as potential suitors for the 33-year-old point guard. Mostly it was the Pacers, the Jazz and the Spurs.
At this point the thinking among some of the league’s executives and scouts is that only the Heat could make a trade for Westbrook.
Even then, team executives and scouts could only come up with one potential landing spot: the Miami Heat. 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.
