The Los Angeles Lakers took a big risk during the 2021 NBA offseason. They had a deal lined up with the Sacramento Kings to land Buddy Hield, one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA. Hield is a seemingly perfect fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis as someone that can space the floor and make teams pay when they leave him open around the 3-point line.
The proposed deal, which many individuals involved thought was done, would have sent Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and the Lakers 2021 first-round pick to Sacramento. At the last second, the Lakers pivoted to another deal.
That same package, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope included, was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles was hoping that the acquisition of Westbrook would limit the team’s negative runs with James off the court.
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Not unexpectedly, the Lakers’ performance dropped when James, their best player, was on the sidelines. Acquiring an All-Star level talent such as Westbrook should mitigate that as he can help carry the load along with Davis. Wishful thinking on the front office’s part, as things have not panned out as planned.
Westbrook has had some flashes, but the negative moments outnumber the positive ones. Sure, his production isn’t as poos as some media outlets would lead you to believe, but he has not consistently provided the Lakers with winning basketball performance.
There are numerous videos of Russell Westbrook attempting a bank shot and hitting the side or top of the backboard. His lack of shooting range has crippled the Lakers’ offense at times, as teams can just ignore him on the perimeter and clog the lane.
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Defensively, he is a sieve. Too often he loses his man when defending a player away from the ball. He will ball watch, allowing his opponent to move into an advantageous position, leading to open jumpers or easy drives to the paint.
While they have made some calls around the league, at this point, the Lakers are stuck with what is looking like a failed experiment. Attaching a first-round pick in 2027, which the Houston Rockets are requiring to even engage in negotiations, would be a very poor, short-sighted move.
That draft pick, should it be traded at all, needs to be for a sure-fire upgrade. Attaching it to Russell Westbrook to swap for John Wall, who is a slightly better fit than Westbrook but still not a great one, wouldn’t improve the team enough to justify it.
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Los Angeles is better off trying to move Russell Westbrook in the offseason, when he can be dangled as an expiring deal, than forcing something ahead of the NBA trade deadline. Even by trading Westbrook, this Lakers team isn’t a title contender based on his current construction.
Rob Pelinka took a gamble in the offseason, sacrificing depth and maneuverability to acquire Westbrook. Unfortunately, this blockbuster trade didn’t work out as well as the last one the Los Angeles Lakers made, when they acquired Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Essentially wasting another year of James’ career, as his body is beginning to show some signs of wear and tear, is something ownership will certainly not be pleased about.
