3. San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have emerged as a potential Russell Westbrook trade destination because they have gone all-in on a rebuild.
They traded away All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this offseason, acquiring three first-round picks and a pick swap along with Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari didn’t even land in San Antonio before he was bought out and eventually signed with the Boston Celtics.
With a ton of cap space available, San Antonio makes a lot of sense as a team looking to get in on the Westbrook sweepstakes. They are focused on building for the future and would love to get their hands on some of the Lakers’ draft capital.
But, the pieces that they can send back to Los Angeles are why they are third on this list. Doug McDermott and Josh Richardson are the rumored pieces that would head to the Lakers and both would be good fits.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: San Antonio Spurs & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
Richardson is your prototypical two-way wing. He is an excellent defender with multi-positional versatility as he can defend backcourt players and wings alike. Richardson also re-found his 3-point shooting stroke last season, something that had been lost for a few seasons.
McDermott is an excellent 3-point shooter, something that you can never have enough of around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Alas, his contract runs through 2024, which makes him someone that the Lakers don’t have much interest in.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: San Antonio Spurs & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
If San Antonio were to make Jakob Poeltl available in a trade, they would vault up this list. That would be three starting caliber players, something no other team has been rumored to be offering.
Even with McDermott having the extra season on his contract, he could easily be flipped for future draft compensation. But, based on what we know and the asking price, the Spurs are third on the list right now.
