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With the Los Angeles Lakers‘ season ending months ago, they will need to make a definitive move with Russell Westbrook in the near future. Whether that’s a trade, a buyout or simply deciding to keep him, the team needs to let new head coach Darvin Ham know what he’s dealing with. According to a recent report from ESPN, the Lakers have been making offers to teams involving Westbrook. The Indiana Pacers rejected an offer and they likely aren’t the only team Los Angeles has reached out to.
A great trade for Westbrook likely won’t materialize but simply getting off of his contract would be a good thing for the team. Perhaps sending him back to his original team is the move that’s best for both sides. Sean Deveny of Heavy.com spoke to a Western Conference executive who believes that trading Westbrook to the Oklahoma City Thunder would be a dream come true.
“The most likely scenario is still Russ ending up back in Oklahoma City, they can absorb him into cap space, give him a year where he can get back to being himself and grab a couple of picks in the process,” the executive said. “It might not be the best thing as far as development goes, but it would be good for the fan base and they’d come away with some assets for it. It’s the dream scenario for Russ and for the Lakers, really, too, if they get another team to go along with it and come away with a player or two who actually fits.”
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Lakers Could Add 3rd Team to OKC Trade
There’s not much the Thunder can offer the Lakers in terms of player talent. For this deal to truly work, a third team might need to be involved. The Western Conference executive believes that the Miami Heat could get involved to create cap space to have money to add a different star.
“So you would get a three-team thing going, with Russ in Oklahoma City and a team like Miami if they really want to create space for Kyrie Irving or [Bradley] Beal, they can send [Kyle] Lowry and [Duncan] Robinson to the Lakers. And they’d have to chip in picks to make it worthwhile for the Thunder,” the executive said.
“Mike Conley and Bogdanovic from Utah, too, you could do that. Getting Russ to OKC kind of gets the Lakers where they need to be on a deal like that.”
Is Lowry Still a Valuable Asset?
A couple of seasons ago, the Lakers had a chance to trade for Kyle Lowry while he was with the Toronto Raptors. They decided against making the deal and Los Angeles was criticized for that decision. However, it may have been the right one. Lowry is a six-time All-Star and NBA champion but he’s clearly on the downside of his career.
He’s 36 now and only averaged 13.4 points a game last season. He also missed eight playoff games last season with injury and wasn’t very effective when he was on the court. At this point, giving up draft picks to get off Westbrook’s contract just to use that money on Lowry and Robinson would be a bad move.
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