Lakers: Team Development Big Winner of Russell Westbrook Extension

The Lakers may not be getting Russell Westbrook (for now) after his extension with the Thunder, but that’s good news for team development

Russell Westbrook signed a three-year extension worth upwards of $80 million to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles Lakers fans have heard about it, mourned over it, and are now moving on.

There are three winners here from the Westbrook deal: the Thunder (obviously), NBA fans (imagine how intense those OKC-Golden State Warriors games will be now) and the Lakers. Wait, what?

The Purple and Gold dodged a major bullet when Westbrook decided to stay with the Thunder. Many thought that after Kevin Durant left OKC in free agency to join the Warriors that it wouldn’t be long before Westbrook bolted too. Some even believed that Westbook was gone regardless of what decision Durant made. 

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Westbook’s ties to LA were a big reason why many speculated over the years that Westbook would eventually end up with the Lakers. If not by trade, there was an opportunity to sign the electric point guard in 2017, when Westbrook would’ve become an unrestricted free agent. But now, that scenario isn’t in the cards

But the Lakers—and Lakers fans for that matter—should be happy Westbrook signed with OKC.

What the extension with the Thunder gives LA is the opportunity to fully commit to the young core of D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. Now they can truly build through the draft, which the Lakers arguably haven’t actually done since signing Kobe Bryant in 1996 (if you can say they did then as they also signed some guy named Shaquille O’Neal that summer).

Lately, the team-building strategy of attempting to lure top-flight free agents has not worked. Since Dwight Howard left in 2012, the Lakers have struck out on landing the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, LaMarcus Aldridge, and others. Something in their approach has to change—and now the Lakers can actual do just that thanks to Westbrook staying in Oklahoma City.

Building through the draft has proven to be a method of attaining success in this league time and again. The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted both LeBron and Kyrie Irving (thought James left for a bit). The Thunder drafted Durant, Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, and Steven Adams. The Golden State Warriors drafted Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green. The San Antonio Spurs drafted Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker.

While the spoils of those wide-ranging drafts are obviously the best picks of the franchise while there have been bad ones (Anthony Bennett, anybody?), what’s important is that none of those players—save for Adams who was selected with a pick acquired in the Harden deal—were acquired through trade.

Therefore, the Lakers find themselves in an interesting position. They have assets that some teams may want, but they also now have a core of five players they acquired through the draft that actually have potential to develop as a unit. How they develop under newly minted Lakers head coach Luke Walton remains to be seen. That being said, the opportunity that is presented for that to happen at all is promising.

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But if the Lakers trade anyone comprising that core of five right now, they’d just be going back to their old ways. Recently, that has spelled doom for the franchise. So why not try something a little different this time around and see where they end up?