Russell Westbrook’s Future In Los Angeles 

The 2021-22 NBA season has been one to forget for the Los Angeles Lakers and one to forget for Russell Westbrook in particular. The future Hall-of-Famer was traded to the Lakers in the offseason, but Westbrook has not fit in whatsoever next to the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, leading to many believing he will be on the move in the offseason once again. 

Russell Westbrook is on his fourth team in as many seasons, but he just has not been able to find solid footing with a new team since moving on from Oklahoma City in 2019. 

While he is an extraordinary talent, Russell Westbrook is a “stand-alone” type of player that thrives when there are off-the-ball shooting threats around him. Next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two very tall-dominant players, Westbrook is not able to really be a factor, hence both his and the Lakers’ struggles this season. 

Los Angeles did look to move Russell Westbrook at the trade deadline this year and they were in deep discussions with the Houston Rockets on a trade that would send former All-Star John Wall to the Lakers, but trade talks stalled out when Los Angeles was not willing to include a future first-round pick in the deal. 

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Heading into the offseason, the Lakers are once again going to be exploring opportunities to move Russell Westbrook, but they have seemed to trap themselves with his contract. Assuming he opts into his 2022-23 play option, Westbrook is going to be making $47 million next season, making him virtually impossible to trade for across the league. 

Cap space is a major problem within the Lakers’ organization right now and trading Russell Westbrook seems like their main priority at this point.