Getty Lakers guard Russell Westbrook.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Lakers have mutual interest in parting ways this offseason.
Westbrook, who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, hasn’t played well this season. His ball-dominant style of play and propensity to turn the ball over have made life difficult for LeBron James and the Lakers, who are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings after having the second-best odds to win the title in the preseason.
Westbrook leads the NBA in turnovers and is shooting 27.9% from beyond the arc and 66.6% from the free-throw line. He has a plus-minus of -151 and -0.3 wins over replacement player. The Lakers need to trade the one-time MVP this summer if they want to win another championship with LeBron and Anthony Davis and Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey has an idea of a move Rob Pelinka could pull off.
According to Bailey, the Lakers should try to trade Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick to the New York Knicks for Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks.
“For the Lakers, this deal almost certainly improves their chances to compete. At least according to box plus/minus, all three have been better than Russ in 2021-22,” Bailey wrote. “This doesn’t make L.A. any younger, but they’d be deeper and have more shooters (with Fournier and Burks) to deploy around LeBron James. While you might think a partnership with him and Rose might have some of the same problems as this year’s LeBron-Westbrook pairing, Rose has shown more of an ability to defer to a ball-dominant forward, as he’s done with Julius Randle in New York.”
Rose, the 2010-11 MVP, played 16 games with LeBron on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017-18. His stint with the Cavaliers didn’t go well, but he’s rejuvenated his career since then, averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 assists while shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Knicks.
Burks and Fournier aren’t household names, but they both can shoot the ball well from deep. The former shoots 37.5% from beyond the arc for his career, while the latter is at 38.2%.
Rose, Burks and Fournier aren’t superstars, but they are three players who could mesh well with LeBron and Davis and help the Lakers contend in 2022-23.
Rose Is a Better Shooter, Decision-Maker Than Westbrook
Rose isn’t the triple-double threat Westbrook is. However, he’s a much better shooter and decision-maker.
Since the 2018-19 season, Rose is shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc and averaging just 1.8 turnovers. During that same span, Westbrook is shooting 28.8% from deep and averaging 4.4 turnovers.
According to an NBA executive who spoke to Ric Bucher of Fox Sports in November 2021, Rose has aged better than Westbrook and learned how to dominate in the half-court without using his athleticism. Rose has undergone four knee surgeries since winning MVP in 2011, but he’s still capable of taking over games since he “learned to shoot better.”
“Derrick is aging better,” the executive said. “He learned to shoot better, and his basketball IQ is higher. But Derrick was always a point guard. Russell was an athlete who played the position.”
One NBA executive who spoke to Heavy’s Sean Deveney believes LeBron wants to play with Rose next season. The two MVPs were seen talking to each other on February 5 at Crypto.com Arena. Replacing Westbrook with Rose would be an upgrade for the Lakers since the latter doesn’t need the ball in his hands all the time to thrive.
However, LAL also has to get Burks and Fournier from the Knicks.
Burks and Fournier Would Be Perfect on the Lakers
The more shooters you put around LeBron and Davis, the better the Lakers’ offense will be. One of the main reasons the purple and gold have been putrid this season is they are 15th in the NBA in 3-point field goals and 29th in free-throw percentage.
When LeBron, Davis and Rose drive to the basket and collapse defenses, Burks and Fournier can roam around the arc and spot up for open 3-pointers.
Rose had a plus-minus of +92 with the Knicks this season before undergoing right ankle surgery in December, while Burks is at +43. Fournier is at -117, but that number would likely change if he played with LeBron and Davis.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers trade Westbrook this offseason and who they get in return. Rose, Burks and Fournier could be a solid package, but Pelinka would be wise to talk to multiple teams.