Getty Lakers guard Russell Westbrook
The Los Angeles Lakers have been projected to part ways with Russell Westbrook this summer and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley has an idea as to whom the Lakers should replace him with.
In a story published April 14, Buckley predicted that the Lakers, who missed the play-in tournament this season, would trade for New York Knicks point guard Kemba Walker.
“Walker’s season was rough — though, to be fair, so was the Knicks’ as a whole — but that shouldn’t tank his value as either a trade target or perhaps a buyout candidate,” Buckley wrote. “Teams hurting for offense will notice he still tallied 16.4 points and 5.0 assists per 36 minutes while hitting 36.7 percent of his threes and 84.5 percent of his free throws, per Basketball Reference. Prediction: Walker is traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.”
According to ESPN’s trade machine, the Lakers and Knicks could complete a trade involving Walker, Julius Randle, Alec Burks and Westbrook.
Lakers Could Send Westbrook to Knicks for Walker, Randle & Burks
In the trade machine scenario, the Lakers could trade Westbrook, the 2016-17 MVP, to the Knicks for Walker, Randle and Burks. New York could also swap out Burks for Evan Fournier.
In a story published April 15, CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn listed the Knicks as one of his “likely” contenders to trade for Westbrook, who is set to make $47,063,478 next season if he picks up his 2022-23 player option.
Quinn wrote:
“The Knicks have the same problem with Julius Randle that the Heat have with Butler: A hefty extension that hasn’t even begun is already looking like a possible mistake,” Quinn wrote. “Unlike the Heat, who have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks are out of the playoffs. Miami would be sacrificing genuine championship equity by giving up Butler.
“The Knicks would be sacrificing the vibes of a former No. 4 seed. If they can get off of Randle and hand the power forward position over to Obi Toppin, they probably should. Throw in some combination of Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker and Nerlens Noel for good measure and you’ve got yourself a decent smorgasbord of role players for the Lakers.”
To compete for another championship, the Lakers need more shooters around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and Walker is a career 36.0% shooter from beyond the arc, so he could space the floor well for Los Angeles, something Westbrook didn’t do in 2021-22.
Westbrook Was a Bad Fit on Lakers
Westbrook shot 29.8% from beyond the arc this season, his worst percentage since 2018-2019. Opposing teams dared him to shoot the ball from the perimeter and that tactic worked more often than not. Westbrook’s true shooting percentage of 51.2% was 17th-worst in the NBA.
Walker isn’t a superstar anymore due to age (he’ll be 32 on May 8) and knee injuries. However, the Lakers don’t need a superstar to be their point guard. They need someone who can shoot the ball from the perimeter, make smart passes and protect the ball. Walker has never been a high turnover guy. He only averages 2.1 turnovers for his career. Meanwhile, Westbrook averages 4.1 and he committed 295 this season.
If the Lakers move on from Westbrook, it will be interesting to see who the Lakers replace him with. Because Walker can shoot the ball, he projects to be a solid fit with LeBron and Davis.