Getty Hornets guard Terry Rozier guards Lakers star Russell Westbrook during the 2021-22 season
The Los Angeles Lakers are unlikely to make a major trade before Thanksgiving, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. However, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes the franchise should already be plotting a deal.
In an October 21st piece called “1 Trade Every NBA Team Should Already Be Plotting,” Swartz proposed that the Lakers trade Westbrook, Max Christie and a 2027 first-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for small forward Gordon Hayward and point guard Terry Rozier.
“Given the amount of elite-looking talent at the top of the 2023 draft class, doing a one-year reset would be the best long-term option for Charlotte, with the chance to pair LaMelo Ball with Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson for the next decade. This means taking a step back this season, using Westbrook’s expiring deal to dump the contracts of Hayward and Rozier while picking up a future unprotected first-rounder and getting a prospect like Christie to develop,” Swartz wrote. “The Lakers get a pair of shooters and playmakers to plug in next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis while still keeping their 2029 first-round pick to use in a future trade.”
According to a September 16th report from Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers discussed a four-team trade with the Utah Jazz, New York Knicks and Hornets before the Jazz traded All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Los Angeles would have acquired Rozier from Charlotte and Bojan Bogdanovic from Utah.
However, the Lakers’ lack of interest in taking on future money and refusal to offer their future draft picks prevented the trade from happening.
Hayward, a one-time All-Star, will make $30.1 million this season, while Rozier will earn $21.5 million. Both players are better fits on the Lakers than Westbrook is since they can shoot.
This Trade Would Be Great for the Lakers
The Lakers could start Rozier, Patrick Beverley, Hayward, LeBron James and Anthony Davis if they traded Westbrook to the Hornets for Rozier and Hayward. Rozier shot 37.4% from beyond the arc last season and hit 222 3-pointers, while Hayward hit 86 3s in 49 games while shooting 39.1%.
Los Angeles needs more shooters around James and Davis. The purple and gold, who are 0-2 on the season, are shooting a putrid 22.4% from beyond the arc as a team through the first two games. Westbrook is shooting only 11.1% from 3-point range. He went 0-of-11 from the field and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc against the Los Angeles Clippers on October 20th.
Opposing defenses sag off Westbrook and dare him to shoot. That creates fewer driving lanes for James and Davis. Since Rozier and Hayward can hit shots from deep, teams wouldn’t be able to leave them open and crowd James and Davis, thus creating more space on the floor for the Lakers stars to operate.
The Lakers Can’t Wait Until Thanksgiving to Trade Westbrook
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale says the Lakers can’t wait until Thanksgiving to trade Westbrook, who is in the final year of his contract:
“Um, yeah, no. The Lakers cannot afford to wait 20 games. Seven of their next 18 come against probable tankers, but they could very easily lose the other 11,” Favale wrote on October 21st. “And starting off 6-13 in this year’s hellfire of a Western Conference is akin to consigning yourself to the play-in race. That’s inexcusable, always, when you have LeBron. But especially when you have LeBron in his age-38 season. … Westbrook is quite literally one of the worst three-point shooters in league history. Among every player to hoist at least 2,000 career treys, only Charles Barkley converted his at a lower clip.”
The Lakers won the 2020 championship because general manager Rob Pelinka surrounded James and Davis with shooters. Pelinka needs to get on the phone and move Westbrook as soon as possible before the LakeShow fall too far back in the standings.
“The time for Pelinka and Co. to act was over the offseason,” Favale wrote. “They didn’t. In lieu of that, the team can and should and must settle for making a trade now.”