NBA insider Marc Stein noted that the Lakers' 20 firsts plus Westbrook’s large expiring contract would help facilitate a trade. Were the Lakers involved in trade talks with the Knicks and Jazz?īefore the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell, and the New York Knicks were still the assumed destination for the former Jazz All-Star, there was speculation that the Lakers could help grease the wheels of a trade between New York and Utah. Why they have chosen to do so - again, considering how objectively terrible the basketball product was last season - remains anyone’s guess. Pincus is right on the money when he asks “so what’s the plan?” Given those constraints for a potential trade, the only possible path forward is that the Lakers have resigned themselves to retaining Westbrook. It’s no wonder that the Lakers haven’t been able to come to a deal if they won’t even part with one future pick. It has long been understood that the price to move off of Westbrook’s contract would be one first, and the price to acquire additional talent would be another first.
The idea that the Lakers could think one first-round pick would do the trick is audacious in and of itself. Eric Pincus reported for Bleacher Report that the Lakers may not even be willing to part with one future first to move off of Russ.Īs of now, competing executives aren’t sure the Lakers will send away one future first-round pick, let alone two, to get out of Westbrook’s contract unless the return package substantially improves the team. The team’s entrenchment with regard to future picks has apparently grown recently. But the front office is also wasting LeBron’s remaining years and expecting the fan base to be okay with another team that will be competing for a play-in spot, at best. They were so far removed from title contention a year ago that one trade likely wouldn’t change that calculus, so they’re theoretically protecting their future. Lakers reportedly unwilling to move even one firstįor much of the offseason, the sticking point in any Westbrook deal has been L.A.’s refusal to include two first-round picks in a trade, despite reportedly telling LeBron James when he signed an extension that they would do so - but only if such a move dramatically raised the team’s championship odds. Whatever the case, people around the NBA now expect Westbrook to remain with the Lakers for the start of the regular season. Maybe the trade demands of other teams were too onerous, or the Lakers were unreasonable in what they were willing to offer to unload one of the league’s most polarizing players. Perhaps the Lakers have softened on Westbrook’s comments after months to reflect, or they believe injuries were the true culprit of last season’s failure. After a disastrous 2021-22 season that saw the team finish in 11th place - behind a team that was a seller at the trade deadline - and culminated with Westbrook blaming everyone but himself in his exit interview, it seemed unfeasible that he would ever suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers again.Īnd yet, less than three weeks before the start of the training camp, the national consensus is that is exactly what will happen. The Lakers front office had one primary job entering the offseason: move on from Russell Westbrook.
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