Teams that have spoken to the Lakers about Russell Westbrook have been demanding at least one first-round pick in any potential trade, league sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
However, the Lakers haven’t been receptive to that idea and have no intention – at least for the time being – of using one of their future first-rounders to facilitate a Westbrook deal, Buha reports.
Westbrook is expected to pick up his $47.4MM player option for the 2022/23 season and will be one of the league’s most expensive players following a disappointing first year in Los Angeles. Although he’ll be on an expiring contract, Westbrook will be a negative trade asset, with teams only willing to take him on if the Lakers sweeten the pot.
Having already traded away a pair of future first-round picks, the Lakers can currently only trade either their 2027 or 2028 selection. After next month’s draft, they’d be able to include their 2027, 2028, and 2029 first-rounders in trade discussions — if they move the ’27 or ’29 first-rounder, they wouldn’t be able to trade the ’28 pick due to the Stepien rule.
But the front office appears averse to attaching any of those picks to Westbrook, and Buha suggests it’s not just a negotiating stance to regain leverage. League sources tell The Athletic that people within the franchise genuinely believe that the right head coach and supporting cast can help Westbrook fit in better going forward.
Buha personally believes that bringing back Westbrook would be a mistake, arguing that the Lakers should be willing to include a first-rounder if necessary to make a deal or even to take the approach the Rockets did with John Wall, leaving the point guard at home to start the season. Waiving and stretching Westbrook’s contract or attempting to negotiate a buyout are other possible paths for L.A., but Buha views those as unlikely.
While the Lakers may not be interested in giving up a first-round pick just to dump Westbrook’s salary, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t be more open to the idea if they’re getting a couple legitimate rotation players in return.
Buha identifies the Pacers and Hornets as potential trade partners that may appeal to the Lakers, listing Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, Kelly Oubre, and Mason Plumlee as possible veterans of interest. I’m skeptical that a couple of those players would be legitimately attainable in a Westbrook deal, even with a first-round pick attached, but if the Lakers were willing to put two first-rounders on the table, more options would open up.
Yes, Lakers should have made it clearly last year
Rockets proposed Wall for Lakers 2027 First and salary filler
Knicks proposed Reddish and Burks for Lakers 2027 First and Horton Tucker
Westbrook has negative impact to wins
Knicks proposed Reddish and Burks last year? How? Reddish has only been on the Knicks for four months.
The Knicks had a window to trade Reddish in a three team deal.
I don’t think I made my point clearly. Here we go: How could the Knicks have proposed to trade Reddish last year when he was on the Atlanta Hawks? He’s only been on the Knicks since January.
@rct by last year they are saying the current season but prior to the deadline when Knicks acquired Reddish. Obviously they dont mean the previous season when Westbrook was on the Wizards. Knicks and Lakers haven’t been playing for a while this season so it seems like a previous season
There was talk at least on here that the Lakers and Knicks discussed a package including Reddish and Burks right before the trade deadline.
If true and the Lakers refused to follow through just to keep that 2027 1st, LA really missed out.
LAL floated (not offered) to NYK at the deadline (no indication they cleared it with TOR, but they were talking to TOR regarding THT, and TOR did want a big in any deal involving their 2022 1st):
NYK get: Dragic, TOR 1st 2022
LAL get: Reddish and Burks
TOR get: THT and Noel
Hundreds of deals get floated at the deadline. NYK supposedly wanted LAL 2027 1st to be added – but LAL didn’t want to put it in the proposal. This is from reporters. Grain of salt. IDK if Reddish was trade eligible yet, although a structure was possible either way; other pieces in various reports; it simply didn’t get to that point.
Smartest move they can make. Buy out Westbrook and let him go. That #1 pick will be a high draft pick since the team will not have leBron by that time and AD will be either hurt or retired because of injuries.
A buy out has to go both ways . Lakers can’t just give him one . Russ will have to agree to one and i doubt he will give up alot of money in a buyout.
Lakers would probably need to give Westbrook a $30 million buy out to get him to take it.
They would need to give him much closer to the full amount. He’s owed $47 million next year. I don’t see him accepting a $30 million buyout because I doubt he’d get a $17 million contract from anyone to make up the difference. If they want to buy him out, I would think it’d take at least $40 million.
Buying out Westbrook wastes the salary space for next season. LA would be better served to take on a collection of longer and worse deals which could be turned around later down the road. I think sending Westbrook back to Was for Porzingis at midseason or for other bad salaries, and send Davis for Lavine. There are a way more moves if you include Davis. I think Joe Harris and Duncan Robinson could be had. But taking on a collection of bad deals could help LA so they don’t have to send out 1sts. It’s a mess but as a practical business person protecting the brand and to be competitive, everyone but LeBron has to be on the table.
Damn you know how the standings in 2027 are going to line up? That’s pretty damn impressive
I’d imagine most GMs, who are paid 7-figures, have league-wide projections for the next 5 years. There’s a wee bit more to the process than the end result (signing/waiving/trading/drafting).
How many RW trade ideas will we see today. Give the new HC a chance; and it is RW’s contract year.
@x%sure you are right. Perhaps they could have Russ play the 2nd string offense.
I agree that at this point, just letting the HC figure out how best to utilize Westbrook is the Lakers’ best, maybe only option.
Should RW prove not just useless but a real detriment by the 20-game mark next season, you can see if a team even more desperate at that point may bite on that expiring contract then or just release Westbrook.
Rebuild
Trade Davis to Kings for 4th pick and salary filler
That’s what I always think
So LA gives up Ball, Ingram, and all those picks for Sacs No. 4 pick? Not a chance AD gets moved. Even less of a chance of it being for a single pick
Way too much for Sac pick. And you waste ADs salary space
Davis isn’t going anywhere silly sillivan. Thanks for the laugh.
No way Russ takes the Wall route, he wants to play every day, he’s not sitting out half the season hoping the Lakers find a trade. Waive and stretch or reach a buyout similar to Kemba’s deal last year, some team should be willing to give Russ 7-10M.
Lol. Good luck with that
If lakers give up a first rd pick to move Russ but wall is the player they get back lakers should just fold the franchise and vacate all the titles they won no hyperbole!
John wall is to washed up to help lakers or any team
But Wall is a better defender than Russ.
He was like In 2017 ! Now he’s washed up
No evidence. People used the same hyperbole about Horford.
Al can shoot and defend and doesn’t think he’s a superstar anymore ! He is fine being s role player ! That’s what Russ needs to accept bc he isn’t close to a star anymore there’s plenty of evidence of that ! His counting stats don’t me jack
Good point, but they’re loking for a coach to require that of RW too… instead of looking for a trade.
I think Buss likes celeb-types. RW currently has tv ads out for a rum that features kickback, dressy style. She probably could picture herself there.
Also RW-hate shields hate for all the other Laker hateables!
Two options should be off the table: (i) trading the 2027 1st (too remote to even punch as a 1st, and very difficult to protect), and (ii) waive and stretching the contract (a mindless concept here).
Wasn’t it reported that a significant factor in their choosing a HC will be the guy’s ideas about using RW-?
I agree in theory but let’s say there are no takers for Mr Westbrook and he’s unwilling to accept a buyout. Bringing him back on that contract is essentially punting on LeBron’s age 38 season – is that going to be palatable to either side?
There are probably (definitely?) no good options here, but dangling Russ as a cap clearer and juicing it with a future pick seems to be the only way for this to end for LA – *unless*
(1) they decide to shop LeBron or AD, or
(2) LeBron is done ring chasing and just wants to accumulate career counting stats in LA for his last few years.
I was being a little tongue in cheek, but I assumed interview riddle of “how would you use RW” meant using him productively with LBJ/AD on the roster with a view toward contention. I guess any HC that actually solved that riddle would be so smart that you’d want the guy regardless of whether RW is there or not, with or without the other two.
Or option (3): trade him to the Knicks for Randle along with Burks and Fournier.
Only partially serious, but as a Knicks fan, I actually wouldn’t mind it. But then again, using Westbrook to clear space after next season would only be a good thing if any big FA were willing to sign with the Knicks, which will probably never happen as long as Dolan is running the team.
I’m all for that personally – buy out Russ, hand the keys over to RJ, pray he makes a leap then hit the 23 summer FA market with a clear cap
Not a perfect plan by any means, but I prefer it over “Let’s run back the Thibs/Randle show for another year.”
There is no other choice but to ride this horse the team put itself on. There’s consequences to making trades and signing players. They will give this one more run because the Lakers will not shoot themselves in the foot.
You cannot handicap your future because you made a mistake last year. It’s only one more season of Westbrook.
If it doesn’t work this coming season you trade Anthony Davis and LeBron walks and you start over. It won’t be a horrible restart because LA can attract free agents.
Any of the other ideas presented such as buyout or trade with a first-round pick attached will NEVER EVER EVER happen. In fact if the Lakers are 12-38 approaching the trade deadline they May dump Davis at that time.
12-38… Is Luke Walton coming back to coach?
Don’t see the trade AD angle here, if anything Id say the opposite –
If they hold Rw (which I think/hope they will) it’s more of a signal they are playing for 2024 with LBJ/AD/boatload of cap than having 2023 be a make or break year
NOW, if LBJ wants out then sure blow it all up
All rivers lead to LBJ, and that’s not a bad thing particularly; LAL just needs timely (hopefully long-term) clarity from him at this point Imo. That;s all we can ask and hope for
They still wont have a boatload of cap if they just let him expire. Currently they are way over the cap, I believe $40+ million. They can get more cap space by other trades or other avenues, but not max contract money. I keep seeing people say Lakers would have enough to get a max player if they keep him and let his money come off the books, but the only way they can do that is with a S&T. Otherwise, they will have some cap space but not a lot.
They would have a max slot + if they just simply parceled Tht for an expiring at some point next year – And that’s factoring in a LBJ deal already
That qualifies as a boatload these days in the NBA
Only 5 teams (currently) this offseason have 1$ open cap for reference
Not sure why anyone would want to give up assets for Westbrook.
Because his contract represents $47 million coming off the books at the end of the season and if you surround him with 3 shooters, a versatile big then put the ball in his hands and get out of his way he’ll put up 22/11/11 and take your team to the 1st round of the playoffs.
You most likely won’t win a championship but only one team each year does and getting to the playoffs gives you a chance because you never know what will happen.
Sounds like a good gambit for Sacramento. What do they have to lose?
The expiring contract is literally the only value he has, and even with that the Lakers are going to have to part with a pick or take back a negative contract just in hopes the player fits better.
Westbrick is finished.He got by on his athleticism and sheer will when he was younger, but it’s clear to see the athleticism is fading. What’s left is a low basketball IQ guy that turns the ball over too much, and what’s worse is *he* doesn’t see it because he’s stubborn and uncoachable.
Is Westbrook finished? Maybe, maybe not. No doubt his fit with LeBron is bad because LeBron gives you everything Westbrook is capable of but is much better at it and Westbrook isn’t of much use without the ball in his hands. However before the trade in his lone season with the Wiz he has the exact type of season I described and carried Washington to the 1st Rd with a team that outside of Beal had a very below average roster.
Beal carried that team to the playoffs as the only all star and all nba rep on a team of guys including Russ ! No what happened is at the end of the year Russ started playing well to compliment Beal to get the Wizards record to a whopping 35 and 39 and the play in tournament! They got in the playoffs and went out meekly ! Fact is Russ is no longer a star and no team wants any part of giving him the ball and putting four shooters around him like his Stan’s want bc all teams know that’s a waste of time
I’ll help ya…Think of it as expiring (1yr) money and not the circus show RW…that may help
Barnes, Holmes, Holiday for Russ and 2027 pick. That gets LA some role players and D, Kings clean out salaries after a year of Westbrook watching their games on TV. Lakers get one last shot, Kings build around Fox and Sabonis.
And miss the playoff AGAIN?? Fans won’t like that. You know you need fans to pay the players and keep the lights on right??
One other pertinent question? What year is Bronnie in the draft? LA may want to leverage a Russ trade with a mediocre team to swap picks in the second round, which sweetens the sh’t sandwich of Russ a little, but serves another purpose.
Internet sez: 2024, likely late first or early to mid-second round if he stays #43 prospect as he is now.
#43 prospect in his class. When he is expected to enter the draft right out of HS, he’ll also be in the draft with all the college kids entering draft. So unless he greatly improves, he’ll be way further down than #43 prospect in the draft. If he gets drafted in 2024, it’ll probably be a late 2nd round pick from whatever team LeBron is playing on.
Good point
Good point there, so maybe an undrafted signee by a fringe team to get one last ticket selling season out of Lebron…
Saving those picks up for the big Doc Rivers trade I see…
Crow is not tasty.
Why do teams always fall for the fool’s gold of Westbrook? When the Lakers made that trade, I was like “wtf? Have they not seen the previous examples of Westbrook regret? It was so obvious.” This happens every time with him, he’s a historically good stat stuffer, but he did nothing for them. They’re addicted to name recognition.
Lakers need to turn Westbrook into 2-3 role players that can stretch the floor and provide the Lakers with a more balanced attack.
See above Kings trade.
sit out RW till TD, new Lakers coach doesn’t need to play a one year left contract … Fans don’t even care about him anyway