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Is it possible for Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Russell Westbrook to be traded to the Orlando Magic before the start of next season? Despite the rumors and the fan theories making the rounds on social media, this scenario is very unlikely.
Thank you for asking me, because I think a lot of misinformation is circulating here on Twitter. To answer your question: It is very, very unlikely that the Magic have interest in trading for Westbrook. https://t.co/CNY6HMvkx8
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) July 9, 2019
Ever since Westbrook made it known that he was open to being traded, a lot of people have begun speculating which team he fits best. Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated was the one who suggested that the Magic should trade for him because they need a great point guard.
However, Magic's president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said that the team is not focused on looking for a star. He said the team is looking to ride the momentum they with last year's roster, in which the team has won 22 of their last 31 games en route to a seventh-place finish in the East.
“There have been a lot of teams that aren’t in major markets that have acquired star players, and there are many different ways to acquire those guys these days. With that being said, that’s not where we are. Where we are is we need to build on what we established last year.”
“Once we saw the team playing that way, it became our goal to keep the team together,”
Trading for Westbrook would certainly require the Magic to give up some of their young players, a move that they are not willing to do at this point because they see guys like Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba as potential franchise cornerstones.
Orlando seems pretty confident with what they have, and they are not in a hurry to make a major splash. They will see what the team can do next season and then decide on the moves that they can make down the road.
But from the looks of it, Westbrook isn't part of their plans, short or long-term.
