After a frenzied start, the NBA offseason has somewhat come to a screeching halt with teams figuring out a way to maximize the output. Among these teams are the Los Angeles Lakers. Ever since the start of the offseason, the Lakers have been linked to an absurd number of trade rumors.
But none of these trade rumors have materialized so far. The biggest name that has been in the trade rumor for the longest time has been Russell Westbrook. Brodie who joined the Lakers in a blockbuster deal last season hasn’t had the best of times with the team.
With the team failing to even make the playoffs with the guard and given how much of a misfit he is with the team, there is a real possibility that Westbrook might get traded in the offseason. It seems like the team does have a trade deadline to decide on the future of Westbrook.
In a recent report by the Athletic, NBA insider Jovan Buha revealed the Lakers have time until training camp to decide on Westbrook’s future.
“There will come a time in which the Lakers have to decide if they’re willing to continue to play hardball and risk missing their window to trade Westbrook. There is a sense among some that training camp is a soft deadline to move Westbrook. If he’s on the roster in late September, there will be a massive off-court distraction, with the media asking about his future, his relationship with James and the organization, Ham’s vision of his role and responsibilities.”
“This isn’t going to go away. That’s not the primary reason the Lakers should trade Westbrook — it’s because he’s not performing up to his gigantic contract and is a subpar fit as a third option — but it’s certainly an ancillary motivation.”
Given that we are still months away from the start of the NBA season, it will be interesting to see what the Lakers opt to do. The Brodie experiment did not work for any parties involved, and a trade might be a win-win situation. Where do you think the Lakers should trade Russ to?
