NBA
Lakers Possibly Trading Westbrook In Return For Some Much Needed Shooting
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated07 Nov 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a rough start to the 2022-23 season at 2-7, which is last in the Pacific Division. Russell Westbrook has been playing more effectively off the bench and has helped the Lakers stay as competitive as they can early on. His team is in need of some shooters and one way they could get those pieces is through a trade, potentially involving him. Reports have came about about a potential trade with another Western Conference team.
Westbrook is not quite the player he used to be, but another team could always use another veteran PG. The San Antonio Spurs were the team being talked about in a possible trade for the nine-time all-star. Players that the Lakers were interested in were SG Josh Richardson and SF Doug McDermott.
NBA betting sites have the Lakers at (+6600) to win the Finals.
Russell Westbrook in 5 games off the bench:
18 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST
18 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 50% FG
13 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST, 60% FG
28 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST, 64% FG
19 PTS, 3 REB, 10 AST, 3/5 3PM pic.twitter.com/gWLD3GBGMu— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 6, 2022
Lakers could potentially trade Westbrook for needed assets
Initially, it doesn’t sound like the Lakers are willing to give up as much draft capital as the Spurs may want. Trade talks haven’t gained much traction since then.
“However, talks haven’t gained traction because the Lakers are only willing to relinquish a pair of second round picks in return for both players.” – LJ Ellis, SpursTalk
If Westbrook did find himself traded to the Spurs, it doesn’t sound like San Antonio is going to want to keep him.
“If the Spurs do land Westbrook in a trade, the source says the Spurs would buy out his contract and allow him to become a free agent,”- LJ Ellis
Consistent shooting is what the Lakers desperately need if they want to start wining more games. Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott offer the type of consistency that they need. Both have a career three-point percentage of over 40 and could be the pieces the Lakers were looking for.
The Lakers have a tough matchup tonight against the 8-3 Utah Jazz. Westbrook has played well for LA since coming off the bench, but they may just need to trade him and get players that offer what the team needs.
