Los Angeles Lakers fans have already seen enough of this team this season. The Lakers came out of the gates in the worst way possible, dropping to an 0-2 record with the worst start beyond the arc in the history of the sport.
After calling for it all summer, Lakers fans are pleading for a Russell Westbrook trade to happen sooner rather than later, regardless of a potential timeline that the organization has given itself to get a deal done.
The most talked-about trade for Westbrook is a deal that includes Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. However, there are other targets and three-point shooters that the Lakers can bring in. What the team does depends largely on what kind of returns they can get.
One of the potential three-point shooting targets that the Lakers could try and add is Gordon Hayward of the Charlotte Hornets. Hayward added fuel to the rumor-mill fire on Twitter by liking (and then un-liking) a tweet that outlines why trading for him is the best move LA could make this season.
Hayward quickly realized that he sparked something and un-liked the tweet but the message was still sent regardless. And quite frankly, this tweet (and the former all-star) may have a point.
It might actually be better for the Lakers to trade for Gordon Hayward.
Now, there are extraneous factors to consider. If the price for the Lakers to get a deal done with the Hornets is two first-round picks, like it is with the Pacers, then the team is probably best just waiting it out anyway.
Sure, Myles Turner is injury-prone and that is a concern but so is Hayward. If the Lakers don’t want to trade two picks for Hield and Turner then they definitely should not trade two picks for a package headlined by Hayward.
That being said, the cost might be cheaper for a deal with the Hornets. The main reason being is that Hayward is on a two-year deal at over $30 million. Charlotte is getting the added benefit of salary-cap relief by making this trade. Sure, Westbrook makes a lot, but he is off the books after this season.
That alone is valuable to a small-market team like Charlotte and that could swing the cost from two first-round picks to one. If that is suddenly the reality then it does make more sense for the Lakers to get three bodies over two and get a potential third star in Hayward that can do more than shoot.
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Plus, isn’t Westbrook just such a perfect fit in Charlotte? While it would definitely be clunky with him, Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball, the Hornets are the perfect small-market team to let him go put up empty stats and elevate them from being the 11th seed to a ninth seed.