The Los Angeles Lakers signed Dennis Schroder on Friday as the team is seemingly doing everything it can to make Russell Westbrook demand a trade. Los Angeles’ roster is stacked to the brim with guards and to make room, a Westbrook trade could be on the horizon.
A trade with the Indiana Pacers seems like the most likely move for the Lakers to make after bringing in Schroder. That being said, the team could certainly surprise us, just like they did by actually signing Schroder.
One of those surprising trades could be a three-team deal that involves the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets were reportedly looped into Donovan Mitchell trade talks before Mitchell was traded to the Cavaliers, indicating their willingness to do some kind of deal that involves Westbrook.
What would this 3-team for Russell Westbrook look like for the Lakers?
Basically, the Charlotte Hornets would be included in the deal to keep the Lakers from taking Mike Conley back in the trade and instead taking back Terry Rozier. If the Lakers are serious about not taking on future money then they never make this move. But if LA is souring on the idea of bringing in Kyrie Irving next summer then this could be a different path for LA to take.
The logic for Utah is the same. They consolidate the roster and get two valuable first-round picks for doing so. Westbrook will simply be bought out by the Jazz as they shrink their roster down to 15.
For the Jazz, they would get off of the four-year contract of Rozier and would instead take on two years of Mike Conley. Next season is not fully guaranteed, so Charlotte saves money long-term. This only happens if the Hornets are dead set on trading Rozier, which would not be a huge surprise.
As for the Lakers, they would have to accept the fact that it is going to take two first-round picks to move Westbrook. If that is something the team cannot accept then it won’t ever make a Westbrook trade.
Rozier is locked in on the roster longer than Conley but he is a better player. And while he adds to the guard-heavy nature of the roster, he is a better natural fit as a combo-guard than Westbrook or even Conley is.
This trade is unlikely but it would not be totally shocking if the Lakers decided to make this deal. Personally, I would rather have Rozier for four seasons at his price rather than sign Kyrie Irving to a multi-year deal at $30 million+ per year.
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Rozier would be a decent third scoring option and Bojan Bogdanovic would be a great one-year rental. A closing group of Patrick Beverley, Terry Rozier, Bojan Bogdanovic, LeBron James and Anthony Davis definitely does have potential.