Getty Head coach Darvin Ham and general manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers did a lot of good things this past season, and one of those things might have been moving on from Russell Westbrook whom they traded to the Utah Jazz at the deadline in February.
However, their five-team trade to acquire him from the Washington Wizards in 2021 lands in the No. 1 slot of the “worst NBA trades” of the last half-decade from Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report.
L.A. sent out three key pieces from a championship-winning team in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma to land the polarizing Westbrook who still had another year on his five-year, $206 million max contract; the largest contract in NBA history when he signed it.
“Anyone should’ve been able to predict that deference would’ve been a little tougher for Westbrook,” Bailey wrote on August 15. “The results were predictably bad. … After making the Western Conference Finals last year, L.A. appears to be back on track, but this trade forced an unnecessary and painful detour.”
The Lakers were 56-74 in one-plus seasons with Westbrook.
Their miss is underscored by the fact that they passed on DeMar DeRozan to trade for Westbrook instead, much to the former’s surprise after thinking it was a “done deal” he would be a Laker.
The Lakers were 25-31 with Westbrook heading into the trade deadline last season and went 18-8 afterward en route to making an admittedly surprising run to the Western Conference Finals.
Austin Reaves Gets Honest About Russell Westbrook’s ‘Fit’
“He was probably one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had,” Austin Reaves said about Westbrook on the “Full Send Podcast” on August 10. “I think it was hard here, and I think it was really just fit. I didn’t think that what we had meshed together…Because I think he’s still skilled, obviously. You can’t go from being you know that to not being good.”
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who coaxed Westbrook into a bench role, praised him.
“Russ made an unbelievable sacrifice,” Ham said, via Michael Corvo of Clutch Points on February 9 after the trade. “Make no mistake about it, I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a professional and everything he’s accomplished in this league.”
Westbrook, 34, has accrued many accolades in his 15-year career including being a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Russell Westbrook’s career accolades:
1094 GP
22.4 PPG
7.3 RPG
8.4 APG
1.6 SPG
198 TD’s
MVP 2017
9x All-Star 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
2x All-NBA 1st Team 2016 2017
5x All-NBA 2nd Team 2011, 2012 2013 2015 2018
2x All-NBA 3rd Team 2019, 2020
Incredible
He signed with the rival Los Angeles Clippers after securing a buyout from the Jazz, helping them to an 11-10 record when he played. They finished as the five-seed but were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns.
Unfortunately for Westbrook, his trade to the Lakers was not his only appearance on Bailey’s list.
Russell Westbrook-to-Rockets No. 4 Among ‘Worst’ Trades
“He might have been spared by the potential inclusion of the Los Angeles Clippers’ trade for Paul George that cost them Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and multiple draft picks (one of which turned into Jalen Williams)…but taking that risk isn’t hard to wrap your head around,” Bailey continued. “Reuniting Westbrook with [James] Harden, on the other hand, is.”
Trading for George was essential to the Clippers signing Kawhi Leonard in free agency in 2019.
Getting traded to Houston exposed Westbrook to new criticism as Chris Paul performed better with a team Westbrook (and George) won 49 games with but was also bounced out of the postseason in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Paul led a supposedly-rebuilding team to just five fewer wins in the regular season and pushed Westbrook’s Rockets seven games in the playoffs before bowing out.
Houston shipped Westbrook to Washington less than one year after acquiring him. Now, the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and Long Beach, California native is set to return for his second season with the Clippers after re-signing on a two-year, $7.8 million contract this summer.