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Russell Westbrook is better for the Lakers than John Wall

HOUSTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 28: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on December 28, 2021 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 28: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket during the second half against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on December 28, 2021 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

The no. 1 goal for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason is to get Russell Westbrook off the team. Los Angeles made the foolish mistake of trading for him last offseason and now the team has to hope that another franchise will make the same mistake this summer.

Unfortunately, which is not really a surprise, trading Westbrook is going to be a very hard thing for the team to do. Westbrook is one of the highest-paid players in the league despite no longer even being at an all-star level. Not only do teams not want to pay that much for a non-star, but just conjuring up the salaries to match Westbrook is tough.

Contending teams are not really going to want to bring him in after seeing what happened in LA and bad teams are not going to want to hinder the development of their young players. There really are just a few possible trades for Westbrook that actually make sense, one of which being a John Wall for Westbrook swap.

This is something that the Lakers rejected at the NBA trade deadline but if the team gets desperate and the Rockets only ask for a heavily-protected pick then maybe the Lakers will pull the trigger. Certain fans definitely want to see this trade after the disaster that was Westbrook’s 2021-22 season.

The problem is that Russell Westbrook is better for the Lakers than John Wall.

Let’s run down the biggest issues that Russell Westbrook has that have hindered the Los Angeles Lakers:

  1. He is overpaid and keeps the team from adding depth
  2. His offensive playstyle does not fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and he will not change
  3. He is a massive liability on the defensive end

Now, for those that want to see the Lakers trade for John Wall, answer this: how does Wall fix any of those problems? He is making the exact same amount as Westbrook next season, so all of the same issues the team has in adding depth is going to be identical with Wall on the roster.

MUST-READ: Should the Lakers regret the Anthony Davis trade? 

His offensive playstyle also does not fit next to LeBron and AD. While he may not chase triple-doubles like Westbrook, he is a ball-dominant guard who can’t shoot threes and needs a high usage rate to succeed. Just like with Westbrook, the floor spacing with Wall would be awful as he mostly just drives to the lane.

Finally, Wall is just as bad on defense as Westbrook. Westbrook is more athletic and can make things happen at times, but his decision-making and effort is so horrible on the defensive end. Wall is not someone who has shown a lot of effort on defense and is less physically gifted.

And let’s not forget that John Wall did not play a single basketball game last season. Not only does he bring all of the same problems that Westbrook brings, but he is out of basketball shape. He was not even playing well the last time he played, either.

It certainly is the lesser of two evils, but the Lakers would be better off simply holding onto Westbrook and hoping that year two with a new head coach could provide some change (it won’t). At the very least, the Lakers can hold onto to Westbrook and hope that there is a bottoming-out team at the deadline that wants to dump salaries for Westbrook’s expiring.

Just the hope of that happening is far better than trading for John Wall.

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