Lake Show Life
Fansided

Lakers Rumors: Pros and Cons of Trading for Russell Westbrook

By Cody Williams

Feb 11, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dunks the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) dunks the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 8
Next
Apr 21, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) yells at the officials during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) yells at the officials during the second quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

Pro: Instant Improvement

Though he may only be one man, you also can’t deny that Westbrook’s arrival in Los Angeles would bring about instant improvement for the Lakers. Not that it takes a great deal to improve from the fact that combining the win totals from the past two seasons wouldn’t be enough wins to make it into the playoffs in the Western Conference, but the strides forward would be great as soon as Russell stepped on the floor in Staples Center.

must read: D'Angelo Russell and The Freedom to Make Mistakes

Like we talked about when discussing what the Thunder looked like with Westbrook and no Durant, they were still on the fringe of making the postseason in the loaded West as they went 16-13 in those 29 full games. Considering that the Lakers won a mere 17 games last season, that Westbrook can win 16 games with Serge Ibaka as his second option and who knows who else as his third is a positive sign in regards to what he could do for the Lakers if he were to come in.

Especially with the young pieces that the Lakers would theoretically get to keep (not all of them, which is something we’ll get to) in a trade in addition to the likes of Deng and Mozgov, the Lakers could easily make it into the playoffs with Westbrook coming into the fold. The question of course would then be just how far are they making it into the postseason after that, but a trip to the playoffs given the lows that the organization has dipped to recently does sound quite enticing.

Next: Con. No. 2

Home/Lakers News