The Los Angeles Lakers took a swing for the fences this offseason when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards. Los Angeles traded away a big chunk of their depth to land the former NBA MVP.
Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the No. 22 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft were sent to Washington in exchange for Westbrook. While it will take some time to adjust to him on the roster, there is no doubt that his presence improves the team’s ceiling.
Anthony Davis is one person that will certainly love having Westbrook running the show. There were reports that Davis was frustrated with the kind of looks he was getting with Dennis Schroder playing point guard compared to what Rajon Rondo was providing him the season before.
Rondo is back again this season, in addition to Westbrook, so Davis should be getting plenty of looks that he likes offensively. He is excited about the impact that Westbrook will have on the team.
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“Having a player like that, who’s going to bring it every night, energy, the motor, defensive end, I think it’s something that we just had to take a chance on,” Davis told ESPN. “And he’s excited, we’re excited to have him.”
While there are some questions about how Westbrook will fit in alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James, there is no denying the effort that he will put in. No matter what his team’s record is or what the score in the game is, you know that Westbrook is going to give it his all and play with 100 percent intensity.
Last season, Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the fourth time in his career, scoring 22.2 points with 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds per game. He played a career-high-tying 36.4 minutes per game as well.
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He likely won’t see the same amount of minutes and opportunities on this deep Lakers squad, but he will continue producing some gaudy numbers with the talent around him. Surely, it will take needed pressure off LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the process.
