Getty Lakers star guard Russell Westbrook
According to a September 2nd report from Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports, the Los Angeles Lakers “have some interest” in the veterans who are still on the Utah Jazz following the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades and Heavy’s Sean Deveney has a trade idea for LA and Utah.
In a September 9th piece, Deveney proposed that the Lakers trade Russell Westbrook and a 2027 first-round pick to the Jazz for guards Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson.
“Conley would be the real prize here, a veteran set-up point guard who can run the team, score when he needs to and generally fit a role,” Deveney wrote. “The bonus: The Lakers would be free of the Westbrook experiment and get a remade bench with (Patrick) Beverley and Clarkson leading the charge. Also, it costs the Lakers just one first-rounder. Teams talking with the Lakers about Westbrook have held out hope that they can force L.A. to give up both of its available picks, in 2027 and 2029. The thinking has been that one pick is for taking on Westbrook’s contract and buying him out, and the other is for the players the Lakers would receive in return.
“The Lakers have resisted that notion and as training camp approaches, the Pacers or Jazz are weighing whether taking on Westbrook is worth just one of the Lakers picks, both of which figure to be valuable. If the Lakers hold firm, after all, the teams could wind up with none of L.A.’s future picks.”
Tony Jones of The Athletic reported on September 2nd that Utah is engaged in trade conversations around Conley and Clarkson. Both players have been linked to the Lakers, who need more shooters around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Jazz Could Take Westbrook’s Contract if Lakers Attach Draft Picks
According to a September 7th report from Ric Bucher of Fox Sports, Utah might be willing to take on Westbrook’s contract if Los Angeles throws in a first-round pick or two. Westbrook picked up his $47.1 million player option for next season. The Jazz would likely waive the nine-time All-Star if they acquired him.
Clarkson and Conley could be perfect sidekicks to James and Davis since they can shoot from the perimeter. Clarkson hit 190 3-pointers in 2021-22, while Conley made 169.
Westbrook, 33, drilled only 79 shots from deep last season. He wasn’t a good fit next to James and Davis due to his inability to hit perimeter shots. The future Hall of Famer shot 29.8% from beyond the arc, and among 46 players to take at least 1,000 shots, Westbrook ranked 42nd in true shooting percentage.
Conley, a one-time All-Star, will make $22.7 million next season. Meanwhile, Clarkson — who began his career with the Lakers — will earn $13.3 million. Conley averaged 13.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 2021-22 while shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc and Clarkson put up 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 31.8% from 3-point range.
NBA Exec: Lakers’ Future Draft Picks Are ‘Powerful’
A Western Conference executive who spoke to Deveney believes the Lakers’ future draft picks are “powerful.” The exec proposed two trades Los Angeles could make with Utah involving Westbrook and draft picks.
“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, (Malik) Beasley, (Bojan) Bogdanovic and Jarred Vanderbilt for one of these picks and Russ? Or, you know, Clarkson or Conley in there? You’re going to want three of those five players, give up Westbrook and only deal off one of the picks. Danny (Ainge) might get more picks if he sells those off individually but he is not going to get better picks, and that is the thing the Lakers have as an advantage.”
According to an August 18th report from Marc Stein of Substack, James — who signed a two-year extension with the purple and gold — has been assured that the Lakers are willing to trade both of their available future first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to improve the roster.