The Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook’s time together looks to be headed toward an inevitable end. The player doesn’t fit the team system and the team can’t seem to figure out any more ways to get the player to fit in. Westbrook has had a truly awful start to the season as the Lakers sit 0-3 with Westbrook under fire for his performances.
Many people have tried defending Westbrook after the Lakers’ slow start to the season due to the poor roster construction. Despite that, everyone is coming to the conclusion that the Lakers need to trade Russ away if they hope to have any success this season. Zach Lowe is also in agreement with that point of view.
“It’s not all on Russ, but it also has become this mushroom cloud over the team that just seems to be sapping everyone’s spirit and I don’t really see a solution other than — I’ve been saying they should bring him off the bench since the summer, even before that — I’m now wondering if they need to just not have him around.”
With Westbrook’s unwillingness to be a bench player on the Lakers due to ‘injury concerns‘, it seems the team is left with no other option but to trade him.
Where Can Westbrook Go Next?
Considering most trade partners would intend to buy out Russ’s contract and make him available to everyone on the waiver wire, Russ might have a few teams calling his phone after the Lakers get rid of him.
There is no team that would ask Westbrook to be a starter anymore, so all of this is contingent on Russ finally swallowing his pride and becoming a bench player in the NBA. If that is the case, Russ would be the ideal point guard to run bench units on multiple teams in the league.
The Dallas Mavericks would be a good fit considering they can put an all-shooting lineup around Russ when Luka Doncic goes to the bench. He could also be useful in teams like the New Orleans Pelicans or Toronto Raptors, but he will be an awkward fit with almost all the star players on each of those teams.
