Latest Lakers report about Westbrook is a nightmare for the 2022-23 season
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to trade Russell Westbrook all offseason and the closer the 2022-23 season gets the less likely a trade seems. The Lakers have options with teams like the Utah Jazz but it does seem like Rob Pelinka does not have interest in making a bad deal just to make a deal.
That has gotten Lakers fans thinking about how the team could trade Westbrook this offseason. Most of the answers involve utilizing the Utah Jazz and the ample assets that they can trade. Heck, even we have theorized a potential four-team trade that would check all the boxes for the Lakers.
The problem is that all of these theorized trades involving Russell Westbrook might not even be possible in reality. While the Lakers definitely could trade assets to move Westbrook, it appears that the team is going to be stubborn in its trade offers to move the former MVP.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus had a very troubling report for fans that are hoping to see Westbrook traded. According to Pincus, rival executives aren’t even sure if LA will trade one first-round pick to move Westbrook before the 2022-23 season.
"“As of now, competing executives aren’t sure the Lakers will send away one future first-round pick, let alone two, to get out of Westbrook’s contract unless the return package substantially improves the team.”"
Los Angeles Lakers fans should be very concerned with this report.
I am not sure what Rob Pelinka believes to be a return that “substantially improves the team”. The best package that the Lakers can make is for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, and in many people’s opinion, that package would fit that billing.
So maybe that package would warrant a pick from the Lakers but the Pacers are going to ask for two. And quite frankly, the Lakers should just do it. Los Angeles has more picks in the next few years than advertised and if they don’t trade the picks now they will probably just trade them in the future for a worse package knowing how LA operates.
It is just ludicrous that the team was so willing to trade NBA assets and the 22nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for Westbrook (when his value was already very low) but the team is scoffing at the idea of trading two future picks five and seven years in the future. Does Pelinka not trust his roster building enough?
Quite frankly, I cannot blame him for not trusting himself to have a good team in five years.
There is simply a disconnect here for the Lakers. There seems to be this illusion of confidence that Russell Westbrook will change this upcoming season and the team can trade him at the deadline if not.
Westbrook won’t change and by the time the deadline comes around the same offers probably won’t be on the table. At that point, the team would have thrown its season away, blowing yet another year of this ever-shrinking title window.