The Russell Westbrook experiment in Los Angeles is off to a shaky start, to say the least. He had a very disappointing debut, where he only finished with 8 points, 4 assists, and a plus-minus of -23.
He bounced back with two near triple-double performances in his next two games and was back to his old self when LeBron sat out a couple of games. But the Los Angeles Lakers have only won three out of his first six games and are two and four when he and LeBron both play.
In their first win with James on the court, he finished with a plus-minus of -8 and the player playing across from him at point guard, Ja Morant, dropped 40 points and 10 assists. Westbrook’s best performance with LeBron on the floor came in their latest win against the Cavs, but they still trailed for a good portion of this game.
At times Westbrook has looked lost as the third fiddle behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, struggling to find his place in the offense and looking very passive. This has even led to some suggestions of Westbrook coming off the bench or playing most of his minutes with the second unit, and that won’t help the clunky fit when they all plan on being on the floor to finish games.
This is not Westbrook’s fault though. The Lakers could have avoided the problem of figuring out what to do with him if they would have just traded for a player that better complimented their two stars.
The Los Angeles Lakers could have traded for Buddy Hield.
The Lakers decided to go all-in on LeBron James’ closing championship window and traded for a star which has worked out for them for most of their history. However this time around they might have been better off making the less flashy move and ran it back with a similar team that was a championship contender when healthy.
They did not need to blow up a core that won a title two seasons ago, and already had a strong defensive identity that carried them to that championship. Their moves to get better on offense and create a big three have caused them to become a mediocre defensive team.
It is way too early to panic and declare the Westbrook move a failure because he got off to slow starts with the last two teams he was with and was able to figure it out. However, it is hard not to think about where the Lakers would be if they would have made a smaller deal for Hield instead of the Westbrook one or made no trade at all.
These are the top three reasons why there might be some regret in making that move.
3. Buddy Hield’s salary is much cheaper than Russell Westbrook’s
Making $44,211,146 this season, Russell Westbrook has the third-largest contract in the entire NBA, so it is no surprise that Hield has a cheaper contract than him. What is surprising is how much cheaper he is, Hield’s base salary for this season is $22,477,272, almost half of what Russell Westbrook is making. For the production they both put out, that discrepancy is very questionable.
To make it even worse, Westbrook’s salary goes up next season by $3 million compared to Hield’s that goes down by $2 million next season and goes down $2 million more the year after that. Considering Hield is one of the better volume shooters in the league he will be playing on a bargain contract when he is in the fourth year of his deal in a couple of seasons.
Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers are paying Westbrook top-tier superstar money, but so far, they are barely getting starter-level production out of him while James is on the floor. His contract also locks them up for next season as well, making it hard to bring in another difference-maker while he is on his current deal.
If the Lakers would have chosen to make the deal for Hield instead, then they would still have the financial flexibility to add a free agent this upcoming offseason or make a trade for another capable contributor at this year’s deadline with his much more movable contract.
The move for Hield also would have created more money to bring back fan-favorite Caruso who they questionably let walk this offseason. Caruso has already made an impact providing a spark off the bench for the Chicago Bulls this season, and his stellar defense has followed him there, as he is third in the league in steals at the moment.
Sure the Lakers still could have re-signed Caruso after the Westbrook deal, but they might have felt more comfortable to match the Bulls’ offer with more cap space available and fewer roster spots to fill.
2. Buddy Hield is a better fit on the Los Angeles Lakers
One of the big reasons why it has been difficult integrating Westbrook into the offense is because he is used to having the ball in his hands for most of the game. He has been somewhat stagnant on offense when he has been forced to play off-ball alongside LeBron and he has not been able to knock down the open jumper when called upon.
That is why it made sense to see him have his best games when LeBron sat out due to injury. Even in the games when he was one of the Lakers’ best players on the floor they still were only able to squeak by the Spurs and lost to the Thunder giving up a 26-point lead to one of the worst teams in the league.
Hield’s game, on the other hand, is more suited to fit alongside a playmaker like LeBron and is predicated on spot-up shooting and working off-ball and around screens to get open for catch and shoot looks. Hield would have given the Lakers another shooter to help space the floor so AD and LeBron can get to the basket for easy looks and have room to drive and kick.
It is no secret that Hield is a better shooter than Westbrook but this year it has been blatantly obvious. So far Westbrook is 5 for 24 for beyond the arc while Hield is 22 for 50 from 3-point range and is second in the league in made threes.
The decision to trade for Westbrook over Hield definitely hurt the Lakers’ overall shooting numbers for this season and that has forced guys like LeBron and Carmelo Anthony into being two of their top jump shooters to start the year.
A goal for this roster was to improve their 3-point and free throw percentage, and even though they are currently top five in 3-point percentage, they currently rank 27th out of 30 in free-throw shooting. Hield is a career 86 percent free-throw shooter. That would instantly make him the best free-throw shooter on the Los Angeles Lakers. AD would never have to shoot and miss a technical foul shot again.
The Lakers did sign players capable of shooting in free agency and one could argue Malik Monk or the injured Wayne Ellington can do a lot of the things that Hield would be doing for them. Yet if they didn’t make the move for Westbrook then maybe they only sign Monk and look for help in other areas like a wing defender to help lock down the perimeter.
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.