Minnesota Timberwolves dodged a bullet by missing out on Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook has been traded, and the Minnesota Timberwolves dodged a bullet by missing out on the former MVP.

As soon as the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers to allow him to team up with the newly-signed Kawhi Leonard, it was apparent that Russell Westbrook was on the trade block.

At first glance, the Minnesota Timberwolves may have been an ideal landing spot for Westbrook. After all, they had just missed out on All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell, who ended up in Golden State. New president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was 0-for-1 when it came to adding a second star to pair with his lone All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns.

A cursory look suggests that a former MVP and eight-time All-Star at the position of greatest need for the Wolves would have been a perfect fit. Remember, we’re talking about a guy who averaged a triple-double in each of the last three seasons.

And then there’s the on-court fit. A high-usage point guard is a strong pairing with Towns, provided that the other three positions are generally patrolled by long, versatile, rangy wing players. A Westbrook-Towns pick-and-roll game would be dynamic, albeit in a different way than the Russell-Towns pairing would have existed.

If the Thunder would have been open to a Westbrook-for-Andrew Wiggins swap and taken back a draft pick or two with Wiggins, then a trade with Oklahoma City would have been intriguing. The Wolves would have almost certainly become a top four team in the Western Conference immediately.

But there’s always a counterpoint. And in this case, there are several.

Age and contract

Westbrook is entering his age-31 season and coming off arguably his worst season since his first All-Star campaign, way back in 2010-11. (Sound familiar, Wolves fans? Jeff Teague is still on the roster…)

With Westbrook’s reckless style of play that relies heavily on his outstanding athleticsm, it’s fair to assume that his decline has already begun. Given that he isn’t a good jump shooter (more on that shortly), it’s hard to see there being more than one or two All-Star-caliber seasons left in his body.

The contract is the most difficult thing to swallow; Westbrook still has four years and more than $165 million left on his deal. Plus, Houston is now responsible for a 15 percent trade kicker after his acquisition. For as bad as Wiggins’ deal is, Westbrook’s cap number is another level still, and Rosas had to weight whether or not that is what he wants to take back in a Wiggins swap.