Recent Lakers rumors are about the possibility of both Russell Westbrook and Paul George leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for Los Angeles after next season.
With the 2017-18 season getting close, recent Lakers rumors have emerged about the possibility of both Russell Westbrook and Paul George joining the Los Angeles Lakers after next season.
With training camp just a few weeks away, Westbrook has yet to sign an extension with the Thunder. The hope in Oklahoma City was that the team trading for Paul George would help convince Westbrook to sign the extension. However, George has no long-term commitments to Oklahoma City and could leave himself after next season.
Westbrook has until the start of the season to sign his extension. If he doesn’t, he will be a free agent and could be playing elsewhere following next season. For Westbrook and George, it makes sense for them to want to wait and see how things shake out. If the Thunder are unable to defeat Golden State Warriors in the West, they might decide to continue to team up on a team like the Lakers.
With both players being from Los Angeles, they would likely both entertain the idea of playing for the Lakers. Recently, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN talked about the Westbrook contract situation, and the possibility of him and George coming to Los Angeles. Here’s what she had to say via Daniel Starkand of LakersNation.com.
"“There’s a gigantic elephant in the room, which is that Paul George is from LA, Russell Westbrook’s from LA, they’re going to be playing together. If they want to stay together they can just come to the Lakers, they can just come to the Clippers. The what ifs, the dominoes that start falling if he does not sign that contract extension by the start of the regular season. Media day comes up next week, I think it’s the 25th out there in Oklahoma. That is going to be the question. If it’s not the first question, the reporters out there aren’t doing their job. So If he hasn’t signed that extension by media day next week, this now becomes the topic of conversation in the entire league.”"
Considering that the Lakers will be able to afford to max contracts next offseason, they would certainly be interested in this scenario. While we already know that the Lakers are interested in George, they would likely also be interested in Westbrook, who is one of the best players in the NBA.
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In addition to the cap space, the Lakers also have some talented young players in Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram to use as selling points for potential free agents. While we are still about a year away from the next offseason, the rumors about Westbrook and George will continue to swirl if they aren’t locked up by the Thunder.