Russell Westbrook’s wife Nina posts cryptic IG story alluding to the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place with Russell Westbrook as the 2022-23 season approaches.

Whether it’s a matter of Rob Pelinka not swallowing his pride and agreeing to take a loss or teams not showing enough urgency to make the trade, Westbrook is still with the Lakers and feels like a lock to remain with the team until the deadline.

Since a Westbrook trade feels highly unlikely at this juncture, fans might as well start envisioning what his role this season might look like.

With LeBron James, Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and now Dennis Schroder to contend with as far as ball-handling, might Westbrook see a significant drop in minutes after he logged 34.3 minutes over his 78 starts last year? It’s anyone’s guess, but nobody would deny Westbrook’s questionable fit on this roster.

With so much unknown about Westbrook’s role, the timing of his wife, Nina’s, latest Instagram story has caused a stir amongst Lakers fans.

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Is Nina Westbrook’s cryptic Instagram story related to Russell Westbrook’s uncertain fit on the Lakers?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to read between the lines here.

Nina Westbrook’s post comes in the wake of Los Angeles cancelling a press conference. The motivation behind that decision can be one of two things. Either Pelinka has seen the reaction to the construction of the Lakers’ roster and doesn’t want to have to answer tough questions until it’s absolutely necessary.

That would obviously qualify as a nothing-burger.

But what if there’s a big move on the horizon and the front office wants to finalize it before they address the media? Could it be that the Lakers have finally found a willing buyer and satisfying return package for the 33-year-old Westbrook?

Myles Turner is officially off the table, per Pacers GM Chad Buchanan, so you can stick a fork in the Turner-Buddy Hield rumors that had been bubbling for months. Has Pelinka potentially reached a middle ground with notoriously stingy and greedy Jazz president of basketball operations Danny Ainge?

Does Nina Westbrook’s “Maybe you’re at the wrong place” comment hint that her husband is on the move? Or is she actually annoyed by the admittedly ridiculous water bottle up-charge? There’s so many questions that don’t have answers.

Maybe none of these dots connect, but the timing of the post will only increase the speculation concerning Westbrook’s status with the Lakers.

Just when you thought everything had calmed down, right?

Is a Lakers trade near after Jazz moves, press conference juggling?

The Los Angeles Lakers rescheduled Wednesday's press conference for next Monday and with the Utah Jazz making moves, something could be up.