Making Sense of the Lakers Trade for Russell Westbrook

I did my draft preview yesterday, and the draft went almost nearly as planned. Scottie Barnes going before Jalen Suggs was semi surprising, but Suggs was picked right after him. Josh Giddey at six seemed like a reach, but that kid has flown up draft boards. I do not know much about both Memphis picks, but that team is front loaded with talent. I think Charlotte got a steal with James Bouknight. He can fill it up. I love Kuminga and Moses Moody for the Warriors. Quentin Grimes will be fun as a Knick. Isaiah Livers got picked earlier in the second round than I thought, which ruled. Sharife Cooper in Atlanta makes sense to me. And Charles Bassey going to Philly looks sneaky good. The draft has tons of talent and I cannot wait to watch all of these guys play this upcoming season.

Yet the biggest news, at least for me, was the Russell Westbrook trade to the Lakers. I know Derrick Favors was traded to OKC, that Landry Shamet went to Phoenix, Ricky Rubio is now a Cav, Mason Plumlee is off to Charlotte, Aaron Holiday went to Washington and Charlotte traded up to get Kai Jones late in the first round. There are some solid trades there, but Russ going to the Lakers is the biggest.

I love Russell Westbrook. I am a fan. I have been a fan since OKC drafted him. I wasn't bummed when he asked to be traded when it looked like OKC was going full rebuild after trading Paul George. I thought he was going to be a better fit in Houston than he was, and I think he played pretty well in Washington alongside Bradley Beal.

This trade to the Lakers is a head scratcher for me though. I get the idea of teaming up three super stars. Teams will see Russ, LeBron and AD in the starting five, and that is scary. The Lakers will win a good amount of regular season games. They are going to be in the playoffs yet again. But what they gave up to get Russ, that is what baffles me. The trade was Russ and two future second round picks for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and two future second round picks. I do not think the Lakers have another first round pick for the next two or three seasons. But the picks are not what jumps out to me. It is the players the Lakers gave up to get Russ. Two of those three guys are/were their best three point shooters. With Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope gone they are left with Dennis Schroerder, who may not re-sign, Ben McLemore who has been a total bust, Markieff Morris who is fine but old and Wes Matthews who is often injured. They also have Talen Horton Tucker who has been fine in spurts, Marc Gasol who is too old and too slow and Alex Caruso, but I wouldn't be surprised if some irrelevant team gives him a ton of money this offseason. So when you look at this roster with the addition of Russ, I do not see much shooting.

With this trade I also see a ton of older guys and younger guys that get injured too much. AD has never played a full NBA season, and in the playoffs this year he looked very injured. LeBron's last two of three seasons have been interrupted by long injuries. Russ looks to have recovered from his torn ACL, but he is coming off COVID and shoulder stuff. And the bench is filled with injured dudes. I think they could've kept KCP or Kuzma. I do not think they had to put both in the deal. I'm sure when Washington saw both of them, plus Harrell, they jumped at the opportunity. I also think Brad Beal likes this deal. Washington didn't get better on defense, but he is now surrounded by dudes that can hit an open shot, which he will create many of with this team.

Again, the Lakers are going to be a very good team this year if healthy. But I do not think the addition of Russ, who again I adore and is one of my all time favorite players, makes them the favorite that Las Vegas has. I think the Bucks are better. I think if Philly can get some good shooters for Ben Simmons, they are better. I think the Suns are better. I think Utah can stop them from getting to the rim and force them to shoot outside. Denver is better with Jamal Murray coming back from injury.

I don't know, I just do not think this pushes the Lakers over the top. I could be proven wrong, and I wouldn't mind since I am such a big Russ fan, but this doesn't move the needle for me.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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