2. New York Knicks
Now that the New York Knicks missed out on trading for Donovan Mitchell the team might pivot and adjust its priorities for the upcoming 2022-23 season. In reality, the Eastern Conference is really talented (and just got more talented) and the Knicks are not going to make much noise with just the addition of Jalen Brunson.
This is still a play-in team at best and it will be interesting to see if the Knicks can realize that and make a smart move for their future. The best move the team can make in the long term is to trade Julius Randle and Evan Fournier for an expiring contract.
Those two contracts are restricting what the team can do financially, especially when Barrett’s extension kicks in. New York is not going to win a title this year anyway so if they can get off those contracts and reset the cap next summer it would be a massive win.
That is what makes Westbrook a potential trade target for the Knicks. Not only would New York get help by freeing up future money but they would get valuable Lakers assets that they could utilize in the future as well.
There is some risk involved with the Lakers as they would have to hope that they unlock both Randle and Fournier in LA. I would not say that is impossible, though, and as bad as Randle’s contract looks the Lakers can manage it with LeBron and AD. After all, Randle’s cap hit never hits $30 million and the cap will spike drastically in a few years with a new TV deal.
On paper, it makes sense for the Knicks to make this kind of trade but NBA teams are stubborn. The Knicks likely view themselves as a legitimate contender even though they aren’t, which might keep them from this deal.