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Russell Westbrook trade is still coming back to haunt Lakers vs Nuggets

Jason Reed|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 30: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 30, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 30: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 30, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers decided to trade for Russell Westbrook during the 2021 offseason and it shut the team’s contention window for a year and a half. The first season with Westbrook was awful and things were trending poorly to start the 2022-23 season.

That all changed when the Lakers were able to reinvent the roster and trade Westbrook at the deadline. That moment proved to be a turning point in the season and ultimately is what propelled the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals.

However, even with Westbrook long gone and those days far in the past, the initial Westbrook trade from 2021 is still coming back to haunt the Lakers. In the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers have to play someone who wants a bit of revenge: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

And in Game 1 of the series, KCP showed that he wanted revenge as he was the best role player on either team. Denver doesn’t win if KCP doesn’t show up in the way he did in Game 1.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1658640883799998467

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is painfully reminding Lakers fans of the Russell Westbrook trade.

KCP finished Game 1 with 21 points on 9-17 shooting. He shot 3-8 from beyond the arc and added three assists, two rebounds and two steals. In a pivotal moment of the game late in the fourth quarter, KCP secured the rebound during a loose-ball situation and started a Nuggets fastbreak that ended with an alley-oop.

There is still plenty of series left and there are positive signs for the Lakers to take away. If Darvin Ham doesn’t try to get cute with his lineups again then Los Angeles actually has quite a good chance to steal this series.

But if the Nuggets prevail and KCP plays a big role it will be painfully poetic as it will represent the Westbrook trade rearing its ugly head one final time. It is already one of the worst trades in franchise history and losing in the WCF because of one of the players that the Lakers traded would be the icing on the cake.

Just like Rob Pelinka was able to pivot during the deadline and rebuild a championship-caliber roster, Ham needs to pivot and make sure that KCP and the rest of Denver’s role players don’t bury the Lake Show in Game 2 and beyond.

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