Making the Case: Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook are just not going to be a fit. There isn’t time to waste for either side to keep trying to make it work.
Westbrook doesn’t want to entertain a buyout to prevent being labeled as a buyout guy. He also doesn’t have much of a trade market when considering he is set to earn $47.1 million next season and has a non-cohesive skill-set playing alongside a lot of stars.
Most teams out there are either building toward the future and don’t have interest in taking on Westbrook without being compensated with assets for it, or they are a contender with star power that wouldn’t be a clean fit with him.
It takes an almost unique situation from a potential trade suitor to be able to look at a Westbrook trade as a possibility and view it as a way to improve. Even the unreliable Kyrie Irving would likely require assets to acquire considering the disparity in age and impact.
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Irving would be a much cleaner fit with LeBron James and already has experience playing alongside the superstar. However, what happens on the basketball court has never been a concern. Adding a shooter like Patty Mills would only help, too.
