Among the teams to reportedly have interest in Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook is the Miami Heat. Jimmy Butler made the switch to South Beach from Philadelphia via sign-and-trade this offseason, leading Miami to send wing Josh Richardson to the 76ers and center Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers in a four-team deal.
Pairing Butler and Westbrook together would give the Heat one of the best duos in an Eastern Conference that’s up for grabs in 2019-20. However, because the Heat acquired Butler on a sign-and-trade, Miami now has a hard cap — and currently have next to no space. With Westbrook due to make $38.5 million in 2019-20, the Heat will need to involve another team and jump through a few hoops to land the 2017 MVP.
Despite the obstacles associated with the possible move, Tim Bontemps of ESPN is reporting those around the NBA feel Westbrook’s next home will, in fact, be Miami.
I think Miami is the only place that makes any sense … the Heat are one of the few teams willing to take on both Westbrook’s money and his personality. In fact, Miami could be the only one … People around the league consider it an inevitability that he will wind up there at this point, too.
