With the NBA preseason just a month away from starting, teams are working rigorously to create the perfect roster. Each team has a different goal and hence a different approach to building their roster.
The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams that are hoping to make a huge comeback next season. Last season, the Lakers missed the playoffs, and it was considered a mega setback for the team. After all, they had a roster featuring several veterans and three superstars in LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
The Lakers have seemingly learned from their mistakes and have focused on adding young guys around their core. So far, the Lakers have stuck to that strategy, but looking at the competition in the Western Conference, they are a few pieces away from contending for the NBA Championship.
Russell Westbrook’s huge contract remains a big issue for the team as he didn’t live up to the expectations last season. It’s obvious that the team is hoping to ship off Brodie before the new season begins.
Unfortunately, they haven’t found major success in doing so yet. After a bunch of failed attempts, it seems like the Lakers might have to settle for a few role players in exchange for getting Westbrook off the team.
Keeping that in mind, the Instagram page “nba.in_depth” has suggested a potential three-team trade that could fulfill the Lakers’ hopes of trading Russ.
If Buddy Hield and Myles Turner can’t be acquired for the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first round picks, then a combination of solid vets from Utah and New York might be their next best play. This doesn’t mean they would acquire all four of Clarkson, Fournier, Bogdanovic and Beasley, but a package of up to 3 is within the realm of possibility by using Westbrook and the ‘27/‘29 picks as a vessel.
Bojan Bogdanovic would presumably be the centerpiece of any deal from the Lakers’ perspective, but there’s far more value to be acquired with both picks.
Malik Beasley shot 38% from 3 last year on a staggering 11.5 attempts / 75 possessions. That’s definitely the kind of player you want next to LeBron and AD.
Jordan Clarkson provides more of a tertiary scoring punch, especially in and around the paint, though his outside shooting leaves much to be desired.
Fournier being woefully overpaid on a longterm deal actually makes him a negative asset in a deal like this. LA would be doing the Knicks/Jazz a favor by taking him on, which could allow LA to extract further value from the deal elsewhere (maybe a 4th team get’s involved?). Fournier shot 39% from 3 on 9.8 attempts / 75 possessions last season.
The page decided to give a long explanation for its proposal, and you can read it above. There is no guarantee that this trade will be accepted by either of the teams.
The reason is that Russ is being viewed as a negative asset around the league. The only silver lining about it is the fact that Russ has a huge expiring contract, and it can help any team that trades for Brodie in getting some nice cap space next season.
