NBANews

Russell Westbrook To Lakers Trade Gaining Serious Momentum

Russell Westbrook To Lakers Trade Gaining Serious Momentum

The Los Angeles Lakers were clearly missing something in 2020-21. Although being ravaged by injuries clearly played a role in their first-round exit from the playoffs, so did having the wrong players in place.

Fixing that requires giving up some pieces and adding different ones.

The first half of that equation should be fairly easy to resolve. The Lakers have already put one of their biggest stars on the trade block. He is coping with it in his own special way.

The second half of the equation is adding new talent. And that’s where Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards comes in.

According to Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report, Westbrook-to-LA is continuing to gain serious steam.

“Lastly, the Lakers rumors have not gone away,” he wrote.

“Los Angeles has been linked by multiple sources to having interest in attaining Russell Westbrook, although the cap gymnastics to acquire the 2017 MVP will surely be tricky. It remains clear that Los Angeles’ main objective this offseason is to find an on-ball creator that can lessen the playmaking duties of LeBron James.”

It’s worth keeping in mind, this isn’t the first time Westbrook has been linked to the Lakers.

Also important to remember in all this is that LA would be taking on substantial risk in acquiring Westbrook. The 32-year-old is due to make $44 million next season and has a player option for $47 million the following season. When he’s playing well and filling up the stat sheet, that’s a decent deal. When he’s hurt and unable to play, it’s an albatross around your neck.

Clearly the Lakers need to make some moves this offseason. Will getting Westbrook ultimately be one of those moves? Time will tell.

Related: 1 Team Aaron Rodgers ‘Wants To Be’ With Next Season

Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button