Lakers: Why a Russell Westbrook trade at the deadline is most likely

1. Opposing teams are going to be more likely to trade for Russell Westbrook with half a season remaining

This idea of the Indiana Pacers trading Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield for Russell Westbrook and a draft pick is absolutely absurd. Indiana just signed Brogdon, who is the team’s best player, to a three-year extension and just traded for Buddy Hield.

Sure, you could make the case that the Pacers are going to want to clear up multiple years of salary for an expiring, but that is something they would maybe consider at the deadline. If they traded Brogdon and Hield for Westbrook now they still have to pay Westbrook for the entire 2022-23 season and they don’t get to see what they have for next year.

Plus, Indiana can get legitimate assets for Brogdon and if the argument is that he is blocking Tyrese Haliburton then what would Westbrook be doing, also as a point guard?

The odds of a team just punting on the 2022-23 season in the summer and trading for Westbrook is slim to none. The reality of the situation is that Westbrook does not have trade value and no team is going to look to trade for him to make their team better.

Instead, they would be trading for Westbrook in what would be a salary dump. However, in doing so, they would be punting on the season before it even starts. Imagine trying to sell that to your fanbase.

Even if a team is not that talented, it is going to head into the season with some sort of expectations and then when things don’t work out then they might be willing to trade for half a season of Westbrook’s salary with the intent of buying him out and saving some cash.

Salary dump trades rarely, if ever, happen in the offseason. The only team that has historically done them is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who probably don’t want Westbrook to hinder the young guards that they are developing.