The Los Angeles Lakers are still one of the worst teams in the NBA, but they’re not as bad as they were in the beginning of the season.
After winning six of their last 10 outings, L.A. has now moved up to 13th in the Western Conference.
In the early going, Russell Westbrook caught a lot of flak for his team’s woes. He did himself no favors by resisting a move to the bench. Eventually, however, that is precisely where he got moved – and everyone has benefited from it.
Now there is a very real question regarding whether the Lakers feel an urgency to trade him. In fact, according to a recent report, there are two guys on the roster they might be more willing to move.
“So I think looking at Pat [Beverley] and Kendrick [Nunn] specifically, those have been the two names that have come up a lot in potential deals where the Lakers could package those guys together and get to about $20 million combined,” Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported this week.
“And then you throw in a first-round pick potentially, and all of sudden there are a lot of options where you get upwards of $22-25 million back in salary and throw in a pick and maybe you get a high-level starter or two coming back the other way if its a rebuilding team that’s looking to shed some salary.”
Los Angeles certainly seems to have more options now than the team did at the beginning of the season. Most recently, the front office has seen three teams emerge as potential trade partners for Westbrook.
Beyond that, L.A. is also considered one of five squads in the hunt for Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets.
And then just a few days ago, LeBron James made his take on which available player he fancies very clear.
The Lakers have been saying consistently that they wanted to wait until mid-December to make a move.
That’s certainly one way to honor the #WorldCup https://t.co/MoBeBHO2q4
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 2, 2022
Well, that deadline is approaching.
What move will they ultimately end up making?
Time will tell.
Related: Patrick Beverley’s Chris Paul Warning Amid Kim Kardashian Claim
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
