3. No Guarantees He Would Re-Sign
This is the biggest elephant in the room and has been for quite some time in the rumors about the Lakers and Thunder making a deal for Russell Westbrook. The biggest reason that the Thunder were looking to make this deal happen with LA was to avoid another summer like this offseason when they lost one of their superstars (Kevin Durant) and got absolutely nothing in return. However, that also put the Lakers and any other potential trade partners in a predicament as well.
Even if the Lakers had been able to come to an agreement with the Thunder, there’s absolutely no guarantee that Westbrook would’ve been around beyond the 2016-17 season. He wasn’t going to say that he’d re-sign with anyone and was 100 percent quiet on what his future would be beyond the upcoming season.
That’s particularly important to note when it comes to the Lakers as they would be mortgaging huge assets for what could have ultimately amounted to a one-year rental. Granted, they would be getting a great player for one year. However, the allure of trading for Westbrook would have been to help fast-track the Lakers into contention and that wouldn’t happen in just the 2016-17 season. Therefore, that lack of a guarantee makes the fact that a trade isn’t going to happen at least a softer blow for the Lakers.
Next: No. 2 Keeping the Band Together