The Los Angeles Lakers were unable to trade Russell Westbrook this offseason and he will ultimately head into the season on the roster. However, if things do not get off on the right foot, Los Angeles will quickly shop Westbrook once more.
For the last six months, the Lakers have been the team without leverage in a Westbrook trade that has had to convince the other side to make the move. However, that could change during the season if teams are either underwhelming and sell themselves on Westbrook or are a tanking team and want to trade for Westbrook to buy him out.
The pleas to trade for Westbrook have already started for one team — the Dallas Mavericks. Lee Escobedo of Deadspin recently broke down the reasoning for Dallas to trade for Westbrook, explaining why it would be a good move for both sides.
And while Escobedo admits that it might be unlikely, the trade package that he does theorize is one that Lakers fans would absolutely love to see.
No first-round picks? That is instantly a massive plus of this deal. Unless you are in the camp that believes Westbrook will be a new player this year (spoiler alert, he won’t), you are probably jumping at the idea of LA making this kind of Westbrook deal.
This Russell Westbrook trade with the Mavericks would be fantastic for the Lakers.
Any Russell Westbrook trade that does not involve trading a first-round pick (let alone two) is a massive win for the Lakers. Every single package we have seen before had some sort of capital sent by the Lakers, but with Escobedo seeing the positives of Westbrook in Dallas, no picks are attached.
Escobedo pens the following in regards to how the former MVP would fit alongside a future MVP in Luka Doncic on the Mavs:
"“The Mavs present the best home for Westbrook’s particular skillset. […] Westbrook is in the last year of his contract, making him exactly the kind of low-risk, high-reward swing Kristaps Porzingis was not. In addition, KP cost the Mavs two first-round picks, an asset they should refuse to include in any deal for Westbrook. If they can make it happen, it makes a ton of sense.[…]Westbrook would give the Mavs a box-office presence who, when staggered minutes-wise with Doncic, would provide a run-and-gun maestro who can keep the pace while being surrounded by the Mavs lethal shooting core. […] Outside of Doncic and Wood, the rest of the Mavs supporting cast does not need the ball in their hands to score. This would allow Westbrook to continue the fallacy that he’s still the MVP-level force from years prior, as the Mavs current roster construction would compliment Westbrooks’s best qualities while hiding his worst.”"
I can assure that the Lakers would not be asking the Mavericks for draft capital in return for Russell Westbrook. Not having to send draft capital is enough for the Lakers, so this would be the best for both teams.
The contracts that LA is getting in return are not expiring deals, so they would have to look at the long-term implications of this. That being said, Tim Hardaway Jr. is essentially a better Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. LA should have no problem keeping him around at that price.
Davis Bertans’ contract has not aged well but at his core, he is a wing who can shoot, which is something that LA currently doesn’t have. They would have one year to unlock Bertans and see if they can get him back to his Washington form. If not, he is a much easier contract to move than Westbrook in the future.
Powell is a bit redundant as the team does not need even more size but he is on an expiring deal as well. Los Angeles could flip him to another team for another asset or simply make it work, giving Damian Jones fewer minutes.
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If LA saves the cap space they are going to end up signing role players like Hardaway and Bertans anyway. If Dallas actually offered this package without any first-round picks the Lakers would be foolish to say no.