As one of the most accomplished stars in the game, Russell Westbrook has already cemented his place in basketball history.
But now, at 32-years-old, he’s struggling to prove he’s still the same high-impact player he was in his prime, as his current tenure has been plagued with difficulty and disappointment — evidenced by L.A.’s 5-5 record to start the season.
In short, he just hasn’t been a good fit and it will be a major challenge for the team to figure out how to make it work.
Worst of all, the Lakers had the chance to trade for Kyle Lowry and Buddy Hield instead. Their unwillingness to trade Talen Horten-Tucker is what ultimately led to the Westbrook trade.
Before last season’s trade deadline, the Lakers could have traded Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Talen Horton-Tucker to Toronto for Kyle Lowry, but chose not to do so because they didn’t want to lose Talen Horton-Tucker (wrote Reddit user u/jack64467) If they did so, they could have signed Lowry to an extension, as he did want one if he was traded at the deadline.
Instead, the Lakers let Schroder walk in free agency, and traded Caldwell-Pope along with Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and a 1st round pick to the Wizards for Russell Westbrook.
Also, Kuzma and Harrell, but not Caldwell-Pope, were part of the trade package the Lakers would have sent to Sacramento in exchange for volume shooter Buddy Hield if the Lakers could not get Westbrook, so they could have had Buddy Hield along with Kyle Lowry if it wasn’t for them wanting to keep Talen Horton-Tucker.
One of the biggest issues with this Lakers team is their lack of shooters. Obviously, Lowry and Hield (two of the best sharp-shooting guards in the league) would have made a world of difference in that category.
And Tucker? He’s only averaging 8.7 points per game this season.
In the end, there’s no going back to change things now. The Lakers will have to figure out how to maximize the talent they have now.
