There has been a Russell Westbrook-shaped cloud hanging over the Los Angeles Lakers all offseason as the front office has transparently been trying to move the former MVP before the 2022-23 season begins.
One of the most talked-about potential destinations — the Utah Jazz with the Lakers as the third team in a Donovan Mitchell blockbuster — was taken away on Thursday. The Cleveland Cavaliers surprisingly swooped in and traded for Mitchell, removing that possibility from the Lakers.
There are still some potential trade packages the Lakers could pull off with the Jazz, none of which inspire that much confidence. There also seems to be some potential for a deal with the New York Knicks still.
Despite not being part of a Donovan Mitchell trade, the Knicks still have contracts that the team desperately wants to move off of and the Lakers are a team that might be willing to take on those contracts.
“a little something I just heard… I strongly believe that there will be every effort made within reason to get rid of Julius Randle before the season starts. And I will just say that.”
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) September 1, 2022
— @JCMacriNBA on @KnickFilmSkool after the Donovan Mitchell trade to Cleveland pic.twitter.com/6hdOrUmAIq
“Every effort” would entail that New York would at least explore the possibility of trading for Russell Westbrook. While it would not make the Knicks any better this upcoming season, it would fix some long-term issues that would help the team maximize in the future.
For the Lakers, it would get Westbrook off the team, perhaps for a price that is cheaper than other trade packages, as LA would be hoping that it could maximize the players it gets in return. There is logic there for both sides, it just depends on how each team views its upcoming season and its potential problems.
What a Russell Westbrook trade to the Knicks would look like for the Lakers:
The “maybe” here is really important for the Los Angeles Lakers. It has been widely accepted that the Lakers are going to have to send two first-round picks to offload Westbrook this offseason. However, if the Knicks are desperate to free up the contracts of Randle and Fournier, then the team might be willing to take just one pick as LA is doing NY the favor here.
Again, it all depends on how the Knicks view this upcoming season. In reality, New York is a fringe playoff team that is not going to make it past the second round. If they can properly realize that, pulling the trigger on a Westbrook trade for future cap space is the smartest thing to do. Westbrook does not even have to play for them next season.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a smart move for New York to do but NBA teams don’t often think like that, especially when they just went out and signed Jalen Brunson.
As for the Lakers, there are some risks here if Randle and Fournier do not pan out but there are some reasons to be optimistic if it happens. Randle’s cap hit never reaches $30 million in the four more years he is under contract and the cap is going to eventually spike here soon with new TV money coming in.
Fournier has really struggled in New York and was not good in Boston but it was not that long ago that he was one of the best three and D guards in the league. If there is anyone who can unlock someone’s three and D potential, it is LeBron James.
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The Lakers may want more cap space to go after Kyrie Irving next summer, though, so a trade like this would keep that from happening. If that isn’t the Lakers’ intent, it would not be shocking if they take the cheaper route (in terms of draft picks) and make this trade.