The NBA world was abuzz last summer when the Los Angeles Lakers rocked the league by trading for Russell Westbrook.
The price they paid to get him seemed steep. They gave up Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell, all young, viable role players, plus a first-round draft pick to get the nine-time All-Star.
But oddsmakers still gave the Lakers the second-best odds to win the 2022 NBA championship, behind only the Brooklyn Nets.
What followed was the most disappointing season in franchise history and possibly NBA history.
Granted, Westbrook wasn’t nearly as much to blame individually as many claimed. But, one can’t really say he had a great season or at least one as great as he is accustomed to having, either.
