It seems increasingly likely the Los Angeles Lakers are going to start the season with Russell Westbrook on the roster. The potential Kyrie Irving blockbuster has seemingly lost momentum and the John Wall trade is no longer out there.
Who is going to take Westbrook off the Lakers roster and make them better? It is close to impossible to find a deal for Westbrook at this point meaning the Lakers might be stuck for one more season.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis both earn a share of this blame considering they recruited Westbrook when the team had far superior options on the market. The front office should be given the largest share of the blame, however, and their continued inability to pivot and give LeBron a roster that can contend for a title.
We watched in Cleveland that LeBron needs very little around him to help push a team to the playoffs when he is healthy. This team is left counting on Westbrook to improve and Anthony Davis to do something he hasn’t his entire time with the Lakers, stay healthy.
This offseason has hardly been encouraging with Davis making it known he was taking time off and Westbrook refusing to say the right things. If the Lakers are going to head into the season with the current roster intact there are three things the team must be willing to do if they have any hope of winning with Westbrook this season.
1. Put the ball in LeBron James’ hands
Far too often last season when Westbrook and LeBron were on the floor together James deferred to Westbrook letting him make the decisions. This was ill-advised and resulted in a blooper reel of turnovers and poor decisions from the Lakers point guard. His ability to get triple-doubles and pile-up assists shouldn’t be confused with LeBron’s elite ability to create shots and make the right plays at the right time.
James needs to be this team’s decision maker and point guard if it is Westbrook at point guard on opening night against the Warriors. Forget being unselfish and putting the ball in Russell’s hand this team tried that and it completely failed.
This team is better when LeBron is making the decisions and setting up his teammates. Westbrook is going to have to take a backseat when it comes to ball handling and be willing to be on the floor without the ball in his hands.
James is going to be an elite passer until the end of his career that is a part of his game he won’t lose even if he isn’t an elite scorer in his final seasons. Allow James to do what he does best and put Westbrook in a secondary ball handler role.