After a disappointing 2021-22 NBA season, it almost seemed confirmed that the Los Angeles Lakers would be trading Russell Westbrook. But so far, the franchise has failed to find any suitable place for the former NBA MVP.
Westbrook has even opted into his $47 million player option, which makes it even harder to find a new team for Brodie. To make things worse, the Purple and Gold seem to have an obsession of securing their future picks.
In any trade talks that they have around Westbrook, the Lakers have straight-up denied including any future picks in the deal. Considering the fact that Russ is on a decline, it is unlikely any team would trade for him without future picks attached to the equation.
NBA analyst Nick Wright called out the Lakers for their obsession. He used a hilarious analogy to make people understand what the franchise is trying to do as of now.
(Starts at 0:10
"Do the Lakers think they are going to be bad in a few years? You're the Lakers & AD's still there. This obsession with the 2027 & 2029 pick — AD's under contract. LeBron will be there or you'll have money to sign someone. No, I don't think it's going to work." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/hw7iCPwFCL
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) June 29, 2022
“The Lakers are trying to shop Russell Westbrook, but they don’t want to attach any picks to him. It’s like walking into a restaurant and sitting down and being like I’m very hungry, I’ll like a meal and I will not pay. Here’s my issue with the Lakers’ refusal to attach a pick to move off a player they clearly don’t want.
“Do the Lakers think they are going to be bad in a few years? Are they planning for that? You’re the Lakers and AD is still there. This obsession with ‘oh we’ve got to keep our 2027 and our 2029 pick’. Anthony Davis’ under contract, he’s 29 years old. LeBron is either going to be awesome forever or leave and you’re going to have money to sign somebody. No, I don’t think it’s going to work.”
As Wright explained, the Lakers are adamant about the wrong thing. If the rumors are true, they want to trade Russell Westbrook but are willing to start with him for the season.
So their stance still remains clear and what they are doing right now honestly doesn’t make much sense. If they can somehow find a team willing to do this trade well and good, but since the odds of that happening are very low, they should change their stance on how to trade Westbrook.
