To the chagrin of Los Angeles Lakers fans, Russell Westbrook was not traded during the Feb. NBA trade deadline. However, the former MVP is likely to be moved in the offseason for two particular reasons.
The 2021-2022 NBA season in LA has been a nightmare for Westbook. The three-headed monster that was supposed to be him, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis have failed miserably as the team sits in ninth place in the Western Conference standings with a 27-34 record.
The marriage of the superstar trio has lacked chemistry for much of the season and it has led to some of Westbrooks’s worst numbers in years. While they were unable to move the former Oklahoma City Thunder star in a trade last month, there are two key reasons he could be leaving Lala Land this summer.
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently saying all the right things when it comes to the idea of Russell Westbrook playing out the remainder of this expiring $47 million contract wearing purple and gold. Perhaps thats due the Lakers and Westbrook not having any other realistic options available with the Brooklyn Nets trying to squeeze LA for draft capital in a potential Kyrie Irving trade.
However, in the case of a buyout situation, the Mavs might want to consider taking a one-year flyer on the former MVP. By all accounts, the issues with Westbrook have never been due to locker room distractions, but rather that he only knows how to play one way and won’t adapt as he ages.
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1) The Lakers don’t want to trade a future first-round draft pick to trade a guy on an expiring contract, no matter how much pressure 37-year-old LeBron James might apply — James, who reportedly wants Irving on the Lakers, is eligible for a contract extension on August 4. If he doesn’t sign one, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
As the staring contest between the Lakers and Nets goes deeper into the summer and potentially into the start of next season, we’re already starting to think about Westbrook eventually being on the buyout free agency market. Whether he’s traded and works out a buyout with his new team or eventually works out a buyout with the Lakers at some point, that outcome wouldn’t be a surprise to many.
The next day, the Wizards dealt Dinwiddie and forward Dāvis Bertāns to the Dallas Mavericks for big man Kristaps Porziņģis and a protected 2022 second-round pick. With the move, Washington was acknowledging that its experiment with Dinwiddie had failed and that it had overpaid Bertāns when it re-signed him in 2020 to a five-year contract with a total of $69 million in guaranteed money.
On Aug. 6, the day the trade became official, the Wizards clearly had gained depth. But they also created salary-cap flexibility by unloading the $91 million they owed Westbrook for the next two seasons and by receiving three smaller, more easily moveable contracts:
If Carey develops into a rotation player, if the incoming second-round pick bears fruit or if either of the trade exceptions help, the Westbrook deal would continue to resonate positively for Washington.
(Top photo of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell: Jason Miller / Getty s) National
For Harrell, the Wizards received veteran point guard Ish Smith, young center Vernon Carey Jr., a conditional second-round draft pick in either 2023 or 2024 and a $5.2 million trade exception from the Charlotte Hornets. For Holiday, the Wizards received cash and a $3.9 million trade exception from the Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles Lakers will have the draft capital needed to facilitate a deal
At the trade deadline, Westbrook still had a ton of money left on his contract. Along with the double-digit millions owed to him this year, he is set to make another $47 million (via Sportsrac) next season. That is a huge amount to take on for a shell of an All-Star, without getting something notable in return — such as draft picks.
In a Wednesday article from Bleacher Report’s NBA writer Jake Fischer, he explained that the team was in negotiations to move Westbrook to Houston last month, however, they were unwilling to part with their 2027 first-round pick. But, moving that pick will become far more palatable this offseason when another pick further down the line becomes available.
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