Trade rumors have been flying around like crazy this offseason, with a lot of players seemingly on their way out from their teams. At the center of it all seemingly, is Russell Westbrook. Westbrook endured a rough season with the Los Angeles Lakers and there have been murmurs for quite some time now that the team wants to ship him off.
The expectation when they traded for Russ last year was that he’d be the missing piece that helps them get back to the Finals, but they ended up missing even the play-in tournament. That led to coach Frank Vogel being fired and while the new head honcho in Darvin Ham was full of praise for his star guard, there is no doubt that the Lakers would love it if someone took Westbrook off their hands. Bleacher Report came up with a 3-team trade, that would help them do just that.
Kyrie & Seth Curry to Lakers
Brogdon & Myles Turner to Nets
Russ & future first-rounder to Pacers
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 21, 2022
It is an interesting proposition no doubt. The Lakers here would get some much-needed shooting that they lacked big time, with both Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry shooting over 40% from beyond the arc this season. For the Nets, they address one of their bigger issues, which was not having an able big man as they get their hands on Myles Turner. Also, Brogdon nets them a good two-guard to pair with Ben Simmons, as the latter should assume point guard duties next season.
As for the Pacers, they are getting Russ and for all his critics, he is still a very good player if he has a bigger role within the offense. He can help them get to the playoffs as well, as he did with the Wizards and the Thunder when he was the main man. The Westbrook contract will be off their books in a season too, unlike Brogdon’s which would be around for 3 years. That cap space along with the first-round pick can help them build a team around Tyrese Haliburton in the coming years.
We’d still say the Nets and the Lakers would come out happier out of this trade as it would solve their major concerns. Kyrie and the Nets are seemingly at an impasse and they would get fair compensation here for him and we already mentioned the Lakers’ problems with Westbrook. It remains to be seen if any of these teams float a trade along these lines but what does seem likely, is that a few of these guys will be wearing different uniforms next season.
