The Los Angeles Lakers have not experienced as much success on the court this NBA season as they had hoped they would. They took a chance acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards and thus far, the results have been mixed, at best.
The Lakers have struggled to find consistency on the court, part of the reason being that they are dealing with so many injuries. Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn have yet to play for this season. LeBron James has appeared in only 11 games and that number will not change for a little while as he entered the league’s health and safety protocols.
Westbrook’s addition was supposed to help the team overcome the times that James isn’t on the court. No one could have predicted that he would miss as many games as he has, but the Lakers thought they had done enough to be prepared for such a scenario. Ultimately, that has proven not to be the case.
Los Angeles is no longer the defensive juggernaut they were the first two seasons with Frank Vogel as head coach. Defense is a big reason that the team won the NBA Championship in the Orlando Bubble and last season they were No. 1 in defensive rating in the league. Trading away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma to acquire Westbrook is a major reason for the defensive collapse.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Sixers Trade Swaps Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons
Offensively, the team has been underwhelming at times as well. Some of that can be attributed to Anthony Davis having one of the worst shooting seasons in the history of the league. Westbrook has also proven to be an awkward fit with the team, as many thought he would be.
With their rest of season outlook being rather bleak, the Lakers could decide to shake things up. If they do in fact look to trade Westbrook, could the New Orleans Pelicans be a potential landing spot?
That trade was proposed over at FanNation and it would be one the Lakers would likely accept in a heartbeat. All of the issues that Los Angeles is facing, depth in the backcourt, lack of defensive versatility and 3-point shooting, are filled by this deal.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Sixers Trade Swaps Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons
Devonte’ Graham is a high-volume and effective 3-point shooter. Josh Hart is an excellent defender with the versatility to defend three or four positions given on the opponent’s lineup alignment. Tomas Satoransky and Garrett Temple would provide some veteran depth in the backcourt and on the wing, helping replace what they traded away to land Westbrook in the first place.
This is likely a deal the New Orleans Pelicans would decline, as the optics of making another trade with the Lakers in which they presumably come out on the losing end of, would be too much to handle. But, they are desperate for a star name that can come in and help push them toward the playoffs as Zion Williamson is still not back on the court.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Sixers Trade Swaps Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons
With each passing day, it gets more evident that the Los Angeles Lakers need to hit the reset button on the Russell Westbrook acquisition and retool the roster to better fit around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It would likely take a different suitor other than the New Orleans Pelicans to get a deal done.
