LOS ANGELES — The Lakers dramatically changed the composition of their roster, trading Russell Westbrook to Utah in a three-team deal Wednedsay that will bring back former Lakers draft pick D’Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves and also net guard Malik Beasley and forward Jared Vanderbilt from the Jazz.
The Lakers will also send a protected 2027 first-round draft pick to the Jazz, according to people familiar with the deal who aren’t authorized to speak about it publicly.
The Lakers are excited to get young players Russell, Beasley and Vanderbilt, addressing the shooting issues that have plagued them throughout the season, sources said.
The trade ends Westbrook’s tenure with the Lakers, a homecoming in Los Angeles that was fraught with injuries to his costars and inconsistent production on it.
Russell, who the Lakers selected No. 2 overall in 2015, is averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists for Minnesota this season. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer after his $31.4 million contract expires.
Of players with at least 350 3-point attempts this season, Russell has the fifth-best percentage of makes at 39.1%. Twelfth on that list is Beasley, who is making 35.9% on 8.6 attempts per game.
The Lakers would have a $16.5 million team option on Beasley’s contract for next season. Vanderbilt is a young defender and rebounder whom the Jazz acquired from Minnesota as part of the Rudy Gobert deal last summer. In 52 games, he’s averaging 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game.
Westbrook enters an uncertain future after moving to the Lakers’ bench this season as the team’s sixth man. And though he’s been productive with 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, his efficiency numbers continued to decline.
In Tuesday’s loss to Oklahoma City, Westbrook and assistant Phil Handy had an on-court argument that grew into a halftime argument with coach Darvin Ham.
Westbrook returned to play in the second half and was aggressive in the team’s late-game comeback attempt. He also passed the ball to LeBron James for the basket that set the all-time scoring record.
The Lakers (25-30) play the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
