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Theoretical Trade Idea: Rondo for Westbrook

A writer for SLAM named Leo Sepkowitz wrote an article about the point guards in the league perhaps being a bad fit for their teams and the possible trade solutions to those issues. Here's his idea with Rondo.

Fixing The NBA’s Point Guard Problem

Proposal 1: Swap Rajon Rondo And Russell Westbrook

This one seems fairly unlikely, which is not to say it doesn’t make sense or that it’s not my favorite of all of these. Rondo has done an incredible job growing alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen since 2006, but with Garnett and Allen both entering the final year of their respective contracts, Big 3 will probably be broken up a year from now. With that will come a Boston team featuring Rondo, probably Jeff Green and possibly Glen Davis as its centerpieces, and one has to wonder if there will be enough offense there to be successful. Boston would do well to pick up a big time scorer, which is exactly what Russell Westbrook is starting to look like.

To be fair, he did say that it seems unlikely, but since it is the offseason and "what if" questions are actually kind of fun, we can debate this idea. My thoughts after the break.

Off the bat I have to admit this is a topic I have trouble approaching with an objective perspective. I just have too much invested emotionally into Rajon at this point. I feel like I watched him grow up over the last several years and while I know he has his faults and idiosyncrasies, I think he's a star and will be for years to come. Still, Westbrook is a star in the making as well, and theoretically would be a great piece to build around for years to come.

At the heart of this comparison is the contrast in styles. Rondo is a facilitator while Westbrook is a scorer. Rondo can score and Westbrook can dish (Durant didn't lead the league in scoring by mistake), but they both play to their talents. Both have room to mature but I think some of the criticisms of each have been overblown for one reason or another.

The fact that it is even an interesting debate at all is a testament to how good both of these guys have gotten. But for me, I'll still side with my emotional attachment and my preference for pass-first point guards. You can always find more shooters and scorers but top flight distributors are a rare commodity.

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