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The Los Angeles Lakers are both a fractured franchise and technically in a good position to compete for an NBA championship this upcoming season. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still on the roster, and with Darvin Ham taking over as coach they seem to be a few stealth moves away from being right back into contention. Two major scapegoats emerged from this poorly constructed roster- head coach Frank Vogel who was immediately fired after the regular season ended, and former league MVP Russell Westbrook, who had a career-low season across the board (eye test and statistics weren’t pretty). Westbrook certainly became the symbol for bad play as the Lakers are the most regularly covered sports team and are known around the world. Here are a few potential trades for the 9-time all-star point guard.
Why wouldn’t the Indiana Pacers send Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon over to LA for Westbrook (whose contract is expiring), Kendrick Nunn, and some draft picks? They should aim to build around 22-year-old point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and one season of Russ certainly wouldn’t hurt. The Houston Rockets are in complete rebuild mode with an aging John Wall at the helm, so shipping their remaining valuable pieces, Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, and David Nwaba, for Russ and some picks could work. Here’s a gamble for the Lakeshow- taking on Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier in order to get Westbrook over to the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier, while being the sweetener in the trade, still has three years left on his deal, so bringing him and a post-leg injury Hayward would be a hit or miss.
Davis staying healthy is ideal, though unlikely. If he can get enough rest and the Lakers can build a competent enough supporting cast around James to get them through 82 games, a roster featuring Bron and AD should get the decorated franchise to the NBA conference finals, at the least. A future with Westbrook attempting to adjust his game to compliment the two superstar forwards seems very unlikely.
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