Russell Westbrook Spotted With Superstar Who Is Longtime Lakers Admirer

Lakers Rumors

Getty Russell Westbrook was spotted with Jayson Tatum.

It is never too early to start recruiting and images of new Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook pictured with Boston Celtics standout Jayson Tatum have L.A. fans dreaming. The two were spotted having a conversation together during an Usher concert in Las Vegas over the weekend. It would seem insignificant except for Tatum’s open appreciation of the Lakers.

Lakers fans may not want to hear the next part, but Tatum is under contract with the Celtics through the 2025-26 season. Tatum is set to begin playing next season on a five-year, $163 million contract extension the swingman signed last November. During a December 2020 interview with TNT, Tatum admitted he grew up wanting to play for the Lakers.

“My favorite player and my idol was Kobe and everybody knows that,” Tatum told TNT in a December 2020 interview, per Audacy.com. “So, I didn’t like the Celtics at all. I only grew up, I was like, I’m going to play for the Lakers. Honestly, I never knew what Boston was at. Like I knew only East Coast. But, I’d never been there, I never thought about going there.”


Tatum Is Viewed as Untradeable: Report

During the season, Tatum posted a photo of himself staring at the Lakers logo during a game at the Staples Center. Tatum’s childhood dreams of wearing a Lakers jersey will have to wait. Bleacher Report’s A. Sherrod Blakely reported that Tatum is viewed as “untradeable” around the league.

“Tatum and Brown are as close to being untradeable as you will find, according to multiple league executives,” Blakely detailed in June. “But beyond those two, the Celtics are expected to listen as well as propose trades involving the rest of the players who will be under contract next season.”


Westbrook Started Recruiting Players to the Lakers Once the Trade Was Announced

Tatum to the Lakers may be more of a multi-year project, but Westbrook did recruit some of the team’s new additions to Los Angeles. Trevor Ariza revealed he heard from Westbrook, “20 minutes after he was traded.”

“It’s funny because Russ got traded, and 20 minutes after he was traded he was on my phone,” Ariza noted, per Silver Screen and Roll. “So I don’t know if he was telling me he was happy to be home, or he wanted to go to dinner or whatever, I just know that he called my phone like ‘yo, what are you doing? Where are you at? I need to talk to you, I need to see you.’ …We kept in constant communication, and then it just so happened that I’m here.”


LeBron & A.D. Pushed for Westbrook to Join the Lakers

Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner reported LeBron James and Anthony Davis played a key role in pushing for the Westbrook trade to happen. The three stars met in Los Angeles weeks before the trade to discuss teaming up together.

“About two weeks ago, Russell Westbrook went to LeBron James’ home and together they and Anthony Davis had a conversation about the All-Star guard joining James and Davis on the Lakers,” Turner explained. “They talked about putting their egos aside and playing as one in their quest to bring the Lakers another NBA championship. Westbrook talked about how his only intention was winning and coming back home to Los Angeles to become a champion. James and Davis talked about the two of them changing positions if that was best for the team — James moving from small forward to power forward and Davis from power forward to center.”