3 teams that might start calling the Lakers for a Russell Westbrook trade
By Jason Reed
2. Utah Jazz
Danny Ainge blew up the Utah Jazz in the offseason and it made a lot of sense to do so. While it is nice making the playoffs, Ainge recognized that the core of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert was not going to win a championship anytime soon.
Instead of keeping that core together for another few years just to keep losing in the second round before Mitchell eventually leaves in free agency, Ainge decided to get maximum value for his stars and get the small-market Jazz under the salary cap.
They not only got a lot of future assets to add more talent but they got the chance to tank for the best NBA prospect since LeBron James. The only problem is that this roster had too much depth and the role players have really stepped up to the tune of a 6-3 record.
This is definitely not what Ainge had in mind and if the Jazz continue to win then the price for trading Westbrook will go down. Suddenly, any future salary-cap space and the fact that they will become a worse team will be valuable to the Jazz.
Los Angeles can absolutely get the price down to one first-round pick if Utah keeps winning. Heck, if it gets so bad for the Jazz then the Lakers might be able to do it for just a pick swap since they would be the ones doing the Jazz a favor.