The offseason has not even come close to officially starting yet but with the season ending much sooner than expected, the speculation around what the Los Angeles Lakers are going to do is already growing. No. 1 on the team’s to-do list this offseason is find a way to get Russell Westbrook out of LA.
The team that was instantly connected to the Lakers by Marc Stein was the Charlotte Hornets, who in theory, could be interested in flipping two years of Gordon Hayward for the expiring contract of Russell Westbrook and an asset.
However, the Lakers are being picky and reportedly don’t want to trade for an injury-prone Hayward, which is something the team is completely wrong about. Instead, the Lake Show seems to favor Terry Rozier in a potential trade package with Charlotte and Laker fans are clamoring at the idea.
Reality check: The Charlotte Hornets are not trading Terry Rozier to the Los Angeles Lakers.
If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. Charlotte has absolutely zero reason to trade Rozier to the Lakers as they do not have the same motivations to potentially move him as they do with Hayward.
The motivations to move Hayward would be because of the injury concerns and the team simply wants to free up money for the 2023 summer. Westbrook could help raise the floor of the team with some fun three-guard lineups but he probably would end up getting bought out at some point anyway.
Rozier does not have the same concerns nor does he have that bad of a contract. Rozier is making $21.4 million next season, which in today’s NBA for him, is an absolute steal. Not many teams can get an impact guy like Rozier for less than $25 million annually.
The only potential reason to trade Rozier would be if the team wants to get assets for him and free up the point guard position for LaMelo Ball. If that is the M-O, then why would they trade for Westbrook? Westbrook is not a future asset in the slightest and he would simply clog up the minutes at point guard with Ball. Westbrook does not benefit Charlotte at all in that regard.
Plus, if that is not enough ranting to convince you that this trade idea is impossible, let’s consider the fact that Rozier is making $25.9 million less than Westbrook is next season. Rozier would not be the only player in the trade as Charlotte would have to package Kelley Oubre AND Mason Plumlee to make it work.
Why would Charlotte ever do this three-for-one? It does not help the team at all and actively makes it worse. The only possible way that the Lakers can trade Westbrook to the Hornets is if Gordon Hayward is involved, assuming the Hornets are intent on getting that cap space.
But hey, Mitch Kupchak did some pretty absurd things as the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, so who knows.