1. Buddy Hield is younger and the Los Angeles Lakers could have stayed younger
There may have been some legitimate concerns surrounding Buddy Hield’s age when he was drafted back in 2016 about him possibly being older than he was leading on. Two years after he was drafted sixth overall in that draft, he revealed that he was actually a year older than the NBA had him listed and was actually 26 and not 25.
Now the NBA does have Hield’s correct age of 28 and that still makes him 4 years younger than Westbrook. He also has a lot less basketball mileage on his legs because he stayed in college for four years developing his game and played less than half of the games of an NBA season.
Hield also has fresher legs because he has never been to the postseason so his seasons have been shorter. Compared to Westbrook, who has played in the playoffs most of his career, played on All-Star Weekend nine times, and has also played in the offseason with Team USA, making his 13 years in the league that much longer.
That obviously means Hield has less experience winning, but he is in the middle of his prime. That could mean he might have more energy on the defensive side of the ball where the Lakers have struggled this season.
The biggest knock on the Los Angeles Lakers roster heading into this season was that they were too old collectively and might not last the entire season. If they had made the deal for Hield instead, then the narrative that the Lakers are too old probably never gets brought up because most of the aging veterans they added would be coming off the bench.
At 28 years old, Hield is also the exact same age as the Lakers cornerstone of the future, AD. He certainly does not carry the same superstar status as Westbrook, but he would have been someone on the same timeline to help carry the Lakers alongside Davis once LeBron inevitably decides to call it quits, at that point, Westbrook might be around retirement age as well.
The Westbrook trade was a big part of them getting older overall because they sent away younger guys like Harrell, Pope, and Kuzma.
With KCP gone because of the trade and Caruso gone because of Westbrook’s giant salary, the Lakers lost their two best young perimeter defenders. Then they failed to bring in anyone in free agency capable of filling their defensive roles.
To make the trade sting a little more, all of those young pieces that left for other teams in the trade have looked solid in their new spot. Kuzma, Harrell, and Pope are a part of a four and one start for the Wizards and they all scored 20 in their last victory.
That loss of their youthful talent looks like it will hurt the Los Angeles Lakers now and into their future.