Proposed Russell Westbrook To The Chicago Bulls Three-Way Trade Gains Traction

Not sure who will be the most anxiously anticipating the months and days until December 15th.

That is the date when NBA free agents that signed in the off-season will be available to be traded.

Russell Westbrook could be headed to the Chicago Bulls in a three-team deal when the moratorium on trades for free agent signings ends on Dec 15th.

That is when a potentially monsterous three-team deal could send Chicago Bulls off-season acquisition Dwyane Wade to Cleveland while the Chicago Bulls receive Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder (along with Iman Shumpert from Cleveland to balance salaries).

Meanwhile, the Thunder would get Tristan Thompson, Tony Snell, and multiple draft picks to make the deal work.

For Chicago Bulls fans, it would be Christmas Day.

More than that, it could be like NBA Draft Day 2008, when the Chicago Bulls turned 1.8% odds in the NBA Draft Lottery into 2011 NBA MVP Derrick Rose.

Russell Westbrook is right now the player that Derrick Rose used to be.

On the court, he is a dominating offensive point guard with explosive athleticism that can absolutely close out a game. Off the court, Westbrook, who is signed to Team Jordan, would evoke the former Chicago Bulls icon and be an absolute star in Chicago.

And if he and Jimmy Butler could coexist out of mutual respect, they would form a incredible young nucleus for the Chicago Bulls to eventually leapfrog to the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

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Russell Westbrook has also been associated with the Los Angeles Lakers in recent days.

Westbrook is rumored to be headed to Los Angeles in exchange for all of the Lakers young players in order to be paired with Kevin Love, who the Lakers can acquire from Cleveland for cap relief.

However, it is highly unlikely that Westbrook would want to play with a stripped down Lakers team when he can sign with them next summer in free agency and play on a team with young depth, including D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and 2016 first round draft pick Brandon Ingram, that could be flipped for another superstar.

So, don't expect to hear any more about Russell Westbrook going to the Los Angeles Lakers unless Westbrook is not moved until next summer.

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We have also heard rumors of another deal that would land Blake Griffin on the Chicago Bulls.

The deal involving the Chicago Bulls shipping out Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic for Griffin could happen without preventing the Chicago Bulls from also completing the potential deal for Russell Westbrook.

This could leave the Chicago Bulls on of the best starting lineups in the Eastern Conference:

• PG     Rondo  |  Grant  |  Canaan
• SG     Westbrook  |  Valentine  |  Dinwiddie
• SF     Butler  |  McDermott  |  Zipser
• PF     Griffin  |  Portis
• C      Lopez  |  Felicio

 The Bulls would lose a lot of the frontcourt depth they have enjoyed for several seasons, but with many teams adopting the Golden State Warriors' model of small ball, the Chicago Bulls would have use for the do-it-all guard depth that they have stockpiled.

How do you feel about the prospect of Russell Westbrook coming to the Chicago Bulls? Would you want to see the Chicago Bulls also add Blake Griffin?  Let us know what you think in the comments below!