The past several months have been filled with seemingly endless trade rumors for the Los Angeles Lakers. Most have centered around Russell Westbrook, who has been made into the scapegoat for all that has gone wrong with them over the past calendar year.
A few specific rumors seemed to have legs, but nothing has materialized.
No matter how much Lakers fans may want Westbrook off the team, it looks like any potential trade will not happen for a while.
Via Lakers Daily:
“The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly are expected to wait until after Thanksgiving in the 2022-23 NBA season to gauge the trade market.”
"I'm told to expect Rob Pelinka and the Lakers to wait until post-Thanksgiving, 20 games into the season and see what teams may start pivoting, who don't start off well."@wojespn on what kind of moves the Lakers can make with their rosterpic.twitter.com/F4MNBN7ArR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 19, 2022
As the summer progressed, the offers for Westbrook grew more and more sparse. The only offer L.A. may have available to it is the one made by the Indiana Pacers, which reportedly would send Buddy Hield and Myles Turner for Westbrook and the Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks.
Normally, teams aren’t too aggressive on the trade market until December. By then, they know what they are and what their weaknesses are, and they’re able to trade players they signed in free agency during the summer.
By winter, a trade offer may materialize that would supply the Lakers with the missing pieces they need.
