The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the teams pegged to make some massive moves during the trade window, but analyst Stephen A. Smith believes the team’s roster doesn’t necessarily possess ample trade capital.
At the time of writing, the Lakers have three options in front of them, and one of them includes trading Russell Westbrook whose future at LA has been a constant headliner since the offseason.
Speaking on ‘Get Up,’ the ESPN analyst said the Lakers don’t necessarily possess the names outside of the point guard to deal with and acquire some blockbuster names that make them instant title contenders.
“I don’t see it because in order to do anything, you would have to give up a Russell Westbrook. I don’t know if you wanna do that right now, not with the way he’s playing, particularly coming off the bench. I don’t know if you want to do that. So, because of that, you have to keep the trio in place, and you really, really have nothing else to give,”
Westbrook has shown glimpses of vintage Russ after coming off the bench. In the 26 games so far, the former MVP averages 14.7 points, 5.9 assists, and 7.5 rebounds. His defense has seen a stark improvement, and has been putting his playmaking skills to good effect.
The Los Angeles Lakers Have Been In Talks With Other NBA Teams To Bolster Their Roster
Prior to the trade date, the Lakers’ plans were outlined by The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. The team reportedly had three paths, and two of them involved doing away with three of their point guards.
The likes of Kendrick Nunn and Patrick Beverley have already been linked to other teams, while reports and speculations of the Purple and Gold looking to acquire DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls have been doing the rounds.
Earlier, Smith sounded optimistic about the Lakers’ chances this year. Despite their 0-5 start, they were led admirably by Anthony Davis’ top-notch run and are now 11-16. Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, he said:
.@stephenasmith still has hope for the Lakers' season 🤞 pic.twitter.com/oyCsKged0s
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 14, 2022
.@stephenasmith still has hope for the Lakers’ season
“LeBron James is just phenomenal in terms of how he’s playing at this stage and point in his career. I can’t say enough good things about him. Russell Westbrook… what this dude is doing coming off the bench, I give him a lot of credit for. I didn’t think he could do it. I had questions as to whether or not his attitude would be right. He’s been a spark plug, he’s been in attack mode and I give him a lot of credit.”
On the game front, the Lakers are coming off a heartbreaking 122-118 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. They play the Denver Nuggets and the Washington Wizards at home next.
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