The Los Angeles and Brooklyn Nets were thought of by some analysts as being the top threats to win the NBA Finals entering the 2021-22 season. Neither team came close to doing so.
Not only did the Lakers not even come close to reaching the NBA Finals, but they also didn’t even come close to making the playoffs altogether. The San Antonio Spurs out-edged the Lakers for the final spot in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.
The poor fit of Russell Westbrook with the Lakers’ roster proved to be too challenging to overcome. He was thought of as a potential option to enhance their team by being a secondary creator next to LeBron James but instead proved to be detrimental.
Brooklyn ended up getting swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs after managing to get through the play-in tournament. Between Kevin Durant’s injury, Kyrie Irving’s inconsistent availability, James Harden’s trade request, and Ben Simmons not playing in a single game after the trade deadline, there were a lot of controversies.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Intriguing New Trade Ideas For Lakers’ Russell Westbrook
The Lakers and Nets now enter the offseason with the need to make bold changes to their respective rosters in order to make the most of having two of the greatest players in NBA history — LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Let’s look at a potential NBA trade scenario that would swap Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook.
