The narrative surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers all offseason has been about the future of Russell Westbrook. It is clear that the Lakers are a better basketball team if they can trade Westbrook, especially if they can trade him for actual NBA rotation players.
There seemed to be some legs in Westbrook being involved in a three-team trade between the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks for Donovan Mitchell. However, the Cavaliers swooped in and stole Mitchell, taking that off the table.
The Lakers could still make an assortment of trades with the Jazz because of the contracts they have to move but that is not the best-case package for LA. Los Angeles seemingly wants expiring contracts to have a shot at Kyrie Irving next offseason, which complicates things.
Does the team prioritize its flexibility and takes on worse players as a result? Or do they simply make the best trade talent-wise, ignoring next year’s cap? We attempted to accomplish both things, coming up with a four-team trade package that brings in the best talent possible while also remaining flexible for next summer.
The 4-team Russell Westbrook trade that checks all the boxes for the Lakers:
- Lakers receive: Bojan Bogdanovic, Myles Turner, Cam Reddish, Rudy Gay
- Jazz receive: Buddy Hield, Daniel Theis, Knicks’ 2025 first-round pick, Lakers’ 2023 second-round pick
- Pacers receive: Russell Westbrook, Quentin Grimes, Miles McBride, Lakers’ 2027 first-round pick, Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick
- Knicks receive: Jordan Clarkson, Wenyen Gabriel
There is a lot going on in this trade as it includes all of the teams that were potentially connected to the Lakers for a Russell Westbrook trade. There is a case to be made about every single team saying yes to this trade, and in the following pages, we will break down just that.
Let’s start with why the Lakers could say yes to this trade package.
Why the Los Angeles Lakers could say yes to this Russell Westbrook trade:
If we are talking about the best possible return that is the best of both worlds for the Lakers then this is the trade. This is a trade package that brings actual talent in return to Los Angeles while keeping the team flexible as a result.
The best package to get just from one team is the Indiana package for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. This is an even better return than that as Bogdanovic could do more for the Lakers than Hield can do.
Both guys can shoot and score at a high clip for the Lakers and more importantly, Bogdanovic is a much better defender than Hield. Not only is the team getting the newfound floor spacing with Hield and Bogdanovic, but they would be getting better defensively as well.
Bogdanovic, Turner and even Cam Reddish (who has been connected to the Lakers) are all on expiring contracts this season. This gives the Lakers a much better supporting cast without locking into future money, as they would be with Hield. Rudy Gay does have one more year on his deal but the $6.4 million is not restricting.
LA sends out two first-round picks in this trade but that is pretty much a given at this point. The Lakers are likely not getting a deal for Westbrook done with less than two picks unless they take on worse contracts.
Why the other teams could say yes to this Russell Westbrook trade:
The case for the other three teams in this trade is not as cut and dry as it is for the Los Angeles Lakers but there definitely is still a case to be made for all three parties involved.
Utah Jazz:
This is perhaps the hardest case to make as the Jazz are in a position to tank this season and definitely wants to be the team that gets the Lakers’ future first-round picks. After all, Jazz president Danny Ainge reportedly covets the Lakers’ two future picks, so that is what he is going to be pushing for.
But at the end of the day, if the Lakers don’t want to trade picks for a bad package and want to get Turner involved the Jazz are not going to have much of an option. This trade keeps them involved and still gets some decent assets in return.
The Jazz get a future first-round pick from the Knicks, a second from the Lakers in next year’s draft and a player in Hield that they can pair next to Colin Sexton to sell tickets for the time being before flipping him at the deadline, likely for another first-round pick.
Sexton-Hield is the perfect backcourt to keep fans entertained while also committing to the tanking and Utah even saves money in this deal, which matters.
Indiana Pacers:
This is essentially the same trade for the Pacers as the team simply making a deal with the Lakers. They get picks for taking on Westbrook and even get Daniel Theis’ contract off the books. Better yet, they also get a young point guard in Quentin Grimes to help the youth movement.
Not much to be discussed here.
New York Knicks:
After falling short for Donovan Mitchell the New York Knicks may want to still make a trade happen with Utah and Jordan Clarkson would be a good player for them to acquire. New York is loaded with draft picks and has the Bucks’ pick in 2025, so they can afford to trade a pick.
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Clarkson would be a solid option to either come off the bench next season or even replace Evan Fournier in the starting lineup alongside Jalen Brunson. Regardless, he gives the team more perimeter scoring, which is never a bad thing.