It has been widely assumed that the Los Angeles Lakers will at least make a sincere attempt to trade Russell Westbrook this offseason.
The nine-time All-Star was expected to give them a great shot at the NBA championship this season, but his acquisition has been considered an epic failure due to the team not even reaching the play-in tournament.
But it now appears there is at least a chance that L.A. gives the Big 3 of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis another try, based upon one topic that it has brought up when interviewing coaching candidates.
Via Lakers Daily:
“According to a report, the team is asking candidates how they would use Westbrook in their respective systems with the Lakers. That seems to indicate that the team is not completely committed to moving the former MVP this summer.
“‘Yet though it remains unclear who will replace the fired Frank Vogel, with Kenny Atkinson, Adrian Griffin, Mark Jackson, Darvin Ham and Terry Stotts among the known candidates, we continue to learn about how Lakers officials see their own roster by way of the coaching search itself,’ Sam Amick of The Athletic reported. ‘More specifically, the notion of Russell Westbrook remaining part of their program is seeming more real all the time. Despite the widely held belief that the Lakers would find a way to trade Westbrook before the start of next season, sources say their coaching candidates have been asked to discuss how they would use him in their system during interviews. The takeaway for candidates, it seems, is that maximizing Westbrook’s presence after his disastrous 2021-22 season is considered an important part of this job.'”
Trading Westbrook certainly won’t be easy. There have been at least two teams rumored to have some interest in acquiring him, and if a trade is consummated, it could bring back talent that would instantly help the Lakers.
But any trade in the NBA is hard to pull off, and a Westbrook trade would be doubly hard to pull off given his age, massive contract (he will be owed $47 million next season) and declining production.
There is likely a real chance Westbrook will be a Laker this fall simply because the team won’t get a halfway palatable trade offer for him. There also could be a chance that the team hires a coach who could make things work on the court between him and his teammates.
