The Los Angeles Lakers had a good thing going when the calendar turned into 2023. Despite not having Anthony Davis, the Lakers were able to rattle off five straight wins to stay afloat as their dominant big man healed up a foot injury.
However, things have once again started to slide for the Lakers. Los Angeles has lost three games in a row, two of which being incredibly close, and are now once again the third-worst team in the Western Conference.
Sunday’s one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers was a specially painful one. The Lakers battled back and forth with a superior 76ers team and had a chance to win the game with the final possession and a timeout to burn.
Instead, Darvin Ham opted to not burn the timeout and gave Russell Westbrook a chance to play classic Westbrook hero ball. And just like so many other times with this team, it ended in the most hilarious way possible, reminding every fan why trading Westbrook was always the answer.
Every time I start to think the pendulum has swung too far and Russell Westbrook gets too much hate he does something like this to give me a reminder
— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) January 16, 2023
Used to be such a fun player to watch but just struggles to play winning basketball at this pointpic.twitter.com/hiOXYRgtST
What makes this play even worse is Westbrook’s explanation after the game. While explaining that Joel Embiid potentially fouled him by grabbing his arm, Westbrook confirmed that he was indeed trying to pull up for the game-winning shot.
Not sure about you, but I definitely don’t think a Russell Westbrook iso possession against Joel Embiid is the way to go.
The Lakers need to trade Russell Westbrook if they are serious about winning.
It does not matter how many positive box scores Russell Westbrook puts together and how many people try saying he is the Sixth Man of the Year. Moments like Sunday night are the exact reason why the Lakers needed to trade him in the first place. It is why he is a sunk cost despite being a former MVP.
Even if Anthony Davis returns and the Lakers go on a run to make the playoffs, it is going to be incredibly hard to win a playoff series when you have someone like Westbrook who is practically unplayable in crunch time.
Not only that, but the Lakers could lose the ability to trade Westbrook’s contract for a similar salary in return by simply letting his contract expire. The team is not going to have $47.1 million in cap space to spend this summer just because Westbrook’s deal is up.
This massive Lakers-Pistons trade could happen after latest rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers could make a massive trade with the Detroit Pistons based on the latest reporting we have heard about the two teams.
If the front office is not serious about winning then great, don’t make a Westbrook trade. But stop trying to put up the front that the team is trying to win basketball games.