Getty Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 27, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Russell Westbrook experience for the Los Angeles Lakers has been a disaster thus far. The one-time MVP leads the league in turnovers, has an effective field goal percentage of 47.0 and has been benched twice by head coach Frank Vogel.
Westbrook’s per-game numbers aren’t that bad. He’s averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists. However, the nine-time All-Star is shooting 43.7% from the field, 30.0% from beyond the arc and 66.8% from the free-throw line. He has a plus-minus of -107 and the Lakers’ offensive rating increases when he’s on the bench.
It doesn’t matter that Westbrook is putting up 18.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game since he hasn’t been a good fit next to superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and doesn’t impact winning. He’s been so inefficient and turnover-prone that many Lakers fans want Rob Pelinka to trade the UCLA product for a better starting point guard.
However, the odds of Westbrook getting traded are low since he’s making $44 million this season and hasn’t lived up to his contract. While there have been some rumblings of a potential Lakers-Houston Rockets trade involving Westbrook, Los Angeles Times basketball reporter Dan Woike says the purple and gold shouldn’t do the rumored deal.
Woike: Lakers Shouldn’t Trade Westbrook for John Wall
Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein reported in January that the Rockets would be interested in trading John Wall for Westbrook if they were incentivized. However, the Lakers were unwilling to include their 2027 first-round pick.
The Lakers and Rockets can still complete a Wall-Westbrook trade since the trade deadline hasn’t passed yet. Woike, though, claims that would be a bad move by Los Angeles.
“Attaching assets to rid themselves of Westbrook for someone like, say, John Wall, seems like a compulsive gambler losing it all and then mortgaging his house for one more spin at the roulette wheel,” Woike wrote. “The cleanest path would be for the Lakers to stick it out with Westbrook, banking on the limited time he’s spent with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and hoping it’ll work itself out. Starting over with a player like Wall, who hasn’t suited up this season, would be a staggering admission of guilt when it came to the Westbrook trade.”
Wall hasn’t played since April 23, 2021. While he did average 20.6 points and 6.9 assists for the Rockets in 2020-21, he has a worse career effective field goal percentage than Westbrook and would be rusty since he hasn’t suited up this season.
While anything can happen in the NBA, it appears the Lakers are going to take Woike’s advice and stay away from Wall.
Lakers Aren’t Convinced Wall Will Be Meaningful Upgrade
According to Stein, the Lakers aren’t convinced Wall will be a meaningful upgrade over Westbrook, who has a close relationship with LeBron and Davis. The King and the Brow encouraged the Lakers to trade for Russ in the offseason.
Stein also reports that LeBron and Davis are hopeful that Westbrook will turn things around after the All-Star break. The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles has a history of playing well in the second half of the season. He averaged 23.6 points, 12.8 rebounds and 13.1 assists while shooting 44.7% overall and 32.7% from beyond the arc for the Washington Wizards last season following the All-Star break.