Lakers should offer this Russell Westbrook-Julius Randle trade to Knicks
By Jason Reed
The Russell Westbrook-Julius Randle trade package:
Russell Westbrook has one of the largest salaries in the entire NBA if he accepts his player option so the Lakers and Knicks could not actually do a real one-for-one swap with these two potentially unhappy former all-stars.
Randle’s cap hit is $26.1 million as it is the first year of a new deal that he signed with the Knicks. Randle’s deal was four years for $117 million and he has a player option in the final year of his contract, in which he will be 30. That player option in the 2025-26 season is worth $29.4 million.
The cap hits increase year over year and are slightly more than his actual salary. His cap hit is $28.2 million in the second year, $30.3 million in the third year and $32.4 million in that player option season.
To get the salary close enough to Westbrook, the Knicks would trade another somewhat large contract in Derrick Rose. Rose signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract after some playoff heroics last season and his cap hit for the 2022-23 season is $14.5 million.
However, Rose’s contract is essentially an expiring one next season as there is a club option in the third year of his deal, which is worth $15.5 million. In total, the Lakers are still actually saving $6.4 million in cap space for next season, which is important for luxury tax reasons.