The Los Angeles Lakers looked far from impressive in their 2022-23 season opener against the Golden State Warriors. The team was unable to contain the Warriors’ explosive offense while failing to convert on 3-pointers themselves. While the Big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook put up good enough numbers, the problem is in the Lakers’ rotational depth.
The Lakers could have added depth amounting to up to 3 playoff-tested players for Russell Westbrook during the offseason but chose not. Teams like the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs have been willing to accept Westbrook for 2 first-round picks, a price the Lakers don’t want to pay.
Reputed Utah Jazz insider Tony Jones revealed that the Lakers turned down a trade package for Westbrook that saw them give up their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, and a 2023 first-round pick.
REPORT: The Lakers had the opportunity to trade their 2027 and 2029 1st-round picks to the Jazz in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, and a 2023 1st-round pick, via @tjonesonthenba.
Oh my… pic.twitter.com/qywhw0PzuM
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 19, 2022
It is unclear what pick the Jazz would be attaching to that trade, as it most definitely won’t be their 2023 pick that they will hope to use to draft Victor Wembanyama.
Should The Lakers Have Accepted This Trade?
Russell Westbrook isn’t the problem but the larger roster is. The Lakers need a strong rotation around their duo of LeBron and AD, a formula that led them to the title in 2020. Trading Westbrook would allow the Lakers to take a step in that direction once again.
The deal-breaker for LA had to have been the inclusion of Mike Conley, who is due $24.6 million next season as a 36-year-old point guard. Bogdanovic was an expiring contract and Gay is a versatile forward who has a $6.5 million player option next season, restricting the Lakers’ cap flexibility in the offseason.
While their ceiling isn’t raised from a trade like this, it definitely improves their floor enough to make a genuine push for a top-6 seed. With Bogdanovic already being dealt to the Detroit Pistons, we can see that the Lakers missed the boat on this. Whether they finally bite the bullet and move Russ for depth from teams like the San Antonio Spurs or the Detroit Pistons is something they’ll have to decide sooner rather than later.
