The Los Angeles Lakers have been diligent in their search for a trade this offseason. They don’t have many assets to build a trade package with, but they are going to do everything that they can to improve this roster heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.
Sometimes, addition by subtraction is the answer. If they can accomplish one thing the remainder of the offseason, it is to move on from Russell Westbrook. He has proven to not be a good fit for this roster and if they can unload him, it will be considered a huge win for the franchise.
Finding a team that is willing to take him on is easier said than done. No one is knocking down the Lakers’ door to acquire a point guard with declining skills that refuses to change his style of play and is owed $47.1 million for the upcoming season.
Even on an expiring deal, Westbrook has very little value around the league. Attaching draft capital to him is something Los Angeles will likely have to do, but how much is the question? Based on recent reports, one first-round pick isn’t going to get the job done.
According to Bob Kravitz of The Athletic, talks between the Lakers and Indiana Pacers are currently dead. Westbrook and a first-round pick was offered in exchange for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, but the Pacers declined.
Kravitz added in a follow up tweet that Westbrook wouldn’t see the floor for Indiana. That means they would likely buy him out or send him home for the season, similarly to what the Houston Rockets did with John Wall last season.
To take on Westbrook and part with Turner and Hield, the Pacers want two first-round picks, likely in 2027 and 2029. That is something that the Lakers have been unwilling to do thus far, but they might have to eventually bite the bullet if they want any chance of competing this upcoming season.
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