New York Knicks Rumors: A real shot at Russell Westbrook?

After the firing of head coach Derek Fisher, there have been plenty of New York Knicks rumors about who the next head coach will be.

In recent weeks, the Knicks have been struggling, and that has led to names like Jeff Teague being tossed around.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Knicks have a real chance at landing a premier free agent not next season, but the season afterwards.

"The Knicks have a real chance to sell Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook in 2017 – New York and Porzingis have his attention, yes – and Jackson ought to start constructing an elite coaching staff to begin that process with Westbrook and with free agents beyond him."

The biggest area of need for the Knicks currently is at the point guard position, as even though Jose Calderon isn’t a bad player, he lacks the athleticism to keep up with guards like Westbrook, which puts a strain on the Knicks’ interior defenders.

Westbrook is having another amazing season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he is averaging 24.1 points, 10.0 assists, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. The combination of Westbrook ad Kevin Durant has been a great one for a while, but they haven’t been able to win a title together.

Durant is going to be the most sought after free agent this offseason, as teams will be lining up trying to convince Durant to leave Oklahoma City. If Durant does indeed leave, that may lead to Westbrook following him out the door the very next season, as it will be difficult to recruit top free agents to the small market in Oklahoma.

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Westbrook has a good amount going on off the court, as he has appeared in multiple commercials, and is a man of a wild style with his outfits. The allure of New York City could certainly be there for Westbrook, who would become even more of a star.

The Knicks do have a few issues to address before the thought of signing Westbrook can happen in 2017 as they are currently without a coach after the firing of Derek Fisher. The possibility of Phil Jackson opting out of his contract is also there, as he may wish to reunite with his girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, in Los Angeles.

"There’s still a strong belief Jackson will eventually find his way to his fiancée Jeanie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers. Walton will be competing with Thibodeau for the Lakers job in the spring, and who knows: Jackson and Walton could be reunited there."

There is one major positive for the Knicks, however, as Kristaps Porzingis is a budding star in the NBA, and players like Westbrook are going to want to play with a freak of nature like Porzingis appears to be.

Next: Who is the best PG in franchise history?

The thought of Westbrook with Porzingis is an exciting one to think about, but the Knicks still have a while to go before that is possible.

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New York Knicks Rumors: A real shot at signing Russell Westbrook?

By Nick Ziegler | Feb 9, 2016

After the firing of head coach Derek Fisher, there have been plenty of New York Knicks rumors about who the next head coach will be.

More from Empire Writes Back