Getty Lakers guard Russell Westbrook
AWestern Conference executive who spoke to Heavy’s Sean Deveney proposed that the Los Angeles Lakers trade Russell Westbrook and a future draft pick to the Utah Jazz for Bojan Bogdanovic, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt.
The Jazz reportedly traded three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1st, so they are expected to enter a complete rebuild since three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in July.
“The two Lakers picks are the most powerful thing as far as picks go in the league right now,” the exec told Deveney. “Everyone expects them to be top picks, and if you can get them unprotected, everybody wants those. The Lakers only want to give up one and now you have to be thinking, if you’re the Lakers, OK, Beasley, Bogdanovic and Jarred Vanderbilt for one of these picks and Russ?”
Shams Charania of The Athletic told Pat McAfee on August 23rd’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” that Bogdanovic is a player to keep an eye on moving forward for the Lakers, who need more shooters around superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The purple and gold ranked 22nd in the league in 3-point shooting last season, hitting 34.7% of their team attempts.
Bogdanovic, Beasley & Vanderbilt Could Fit Well on Lakers
Bogdanovic and Beasley could fit well on the Lakers since both players can space the floor. Beasley hit 240 3-pointers with the Timberwolves last season, while Bogdanovic sank 181 for the Jazz. Beasley shot 37.7% from beyond the arc and Bogdanovic shot 38.7%.
Vanderbilt isn’t a household name, but he’s a solid role player who can defend. The Texas native is 6-foot-9 and averages 1.0 steals per game for his career. Vanderbilt averaged 6.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Timberwolves in 2021-22 while shooting 58.7% from the field.
The Lakers need more defenders on the perimeter, even after acquiring Patrick Beverley from the Jazz. Los Angeles gave up 115.1 points per game last season, which was 28th of 30, and had a defensive rating of 113.3, 21st of 30. Vanderbilt had a defensive rating of 107.7 in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Westbrook had a defensive rating of 113.6.
If the Lakers trade Westbrook and a future draft pick to the Jazz for Bogdanovic, Beasley and Vanderbilt, they could have a starting lineup of Beverley, Beasley, Bogdanovic, James and Davis in 2022-23. Beasley and Bogdanovic would be the 3-point shooters around James and Davis and Beverley would be the tenacious defender at the guard position who can hit shots from time to time.
NBA Source: Strange Lakers & Jazz Did Beverley Deal When They Did
Deveney also spoke to an NBA source who said that it was “a little strange” the Lakers and Jazz did the Beverley trade when they did. Los Angeles acquired Beverley from Utah on August 25th.
“It was a little strange that the Lakers and Jazz did the Beverley deal when they did because you knew they’d have more to talk about down the line,” the source told Deveney. “They (LA) had interest in Mitchell and that was something Danny (Ainge) was keeping on the back burner, but there were other offers ahead of where the Lakers were. Danny always knew he could go back to them. There is no question that the Lakers would have made the move for Mitchell if they could and the Jazz wanted those two picks (2027 and 2029).”
According to an August 18th report from Marc Stein of Substack, James has been assured that the Lakers are willing to trade both of their available future first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. The four-time MVP signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension on August 18th. The extension includes a player option for the 2024-25 season and has a 15% trade kicker.
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