San Antonio Spurs Trade Rumors 2016: trading Russell Westbrook for Kawhi Leonard may be impossible

Reuters

The impending end of contract of Russell Westbrook with Oklahoma City Thunder has made different teams clamor for him to complete their winning team.

San Antonio Spurs trade talk rumors suggest that Kawhi Leonard might be swapped for Russell Westbrook. But according to SBNation, that might be impossible for a number of reasons. Westbrook seems reluctant to sign a renewal of his contract with Thunder.

In addition to that, Leonard still has three years left of him with Spurs. A swap could be possible if Westbrook decides to sign another contract with Thunder to compliment Leonard's remaining time. If Westbrook did agree to sign, the move to trade Leonard is still doubtful because of what he established in the team and as a defensive player.

In an article by Morning News USA, ESPN broadcaster Jalen Rose said "If he wants to go to a team that has a championship pedigree, pack up right now and go to San Antonio. They have Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. The only team in the league whose forwards led them in scoring. Now you put him on top of the floor, he led the league in triple doubles. That would be insane."

Thunder will probably agree for a trade with Westbrook if Spurs offer either Kawhi Leonard or LaMarcus Aldridge. But if Spurs would decide to keep Leonard, the next best trade they could offer in an exchange of Westbrook would involve Kyle Anderson, Dejounte Murray, Danny Green and several future draft picks.

Another option for Spurs to acquire their Big Three, consisting of Westbrook, Leonard, and Aldridge, is by free agency. But this might cause them a big chunk of their players since a deal like this would come with a high price. They might lose the 'contracts of Pau Gasol, Patty Mills, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to sign Westbrook to a max deal' according to Pounding the Rock.