Bleacher Report recently published an article with six possible trade destinations for Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is set to be owed $47.1 million next season if he picks up his 2022-23 player option. With how hostile things appear between Westbrook and the Lakers, a divorce seems inevitable between the two parties.
One of the six possible trade partners includes Westbrook’s former team the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career at. The proposed trade has the Thunder sending Mike Muscala and Derrick Favors to the Lakers for Westbrook with the possibility of a third team entering the trade to compensate Oklahoma City. The Lakers could also give up either/both the 2027 first-round pick and 2029 first-round pick with various protections.
“The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only team with significant cap space (approximately $32 million). That’s not enough to absorb Westbrook’s $44.2 million in June, but it would work if the Lakers took on Derrick Favors and Mike Muscala (assuming both of their options are picked up for next season before July).
Oklahoma City is likely to climb over the cap July 1, when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s extension kicks in. The franchise could aggressively look to take on unwanted contracts in May or June to help two or three teams dump salary—for multiple draft considerations, naturally. For a contract as big as Westbrook’s, the Thunder would certainly demand a pair of first-rounders (likely in 2027 and 2029).
The Lakers wouldn’t get appreciably better with Favors and Muscala, but it could mark an intermediary step. The deal would drop them under the projected luxury tax ($149 million), which would open up the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($10.3 million) and the bi-annual exception ($4.1 million). Without a Westbrook trade, the Lakers project to have only the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.4 million), which may not be enough to re-sign Malik Monk.
L.A. would also get a massive trade exception via the Thunder ($31 million), available for an entire year to help the Lakers find additional talent in future trades. If the team used its NTMLE or BAE, it would have a hard spending limit of $155.7 million, so the Lakers might need to redirect players such as Favors to another franchise to utilize a full exception.
The Thunder could also be the key to unlocking a multiteam trade with any number of franchises eager to get rid of expensive veteran talent but unwilling to take on Westbrook’s salary.
The key for a deal with the Thunder might be finding another team to compensate Oklahoma City so that dumping Westbrook only costs a single first. Getting that done while bringing back impact talent may be too much to ask. The compromise might be a lottery-protected 2029 first that converts to a second if the Lakers miss the playoffs.”
Unless the Thunder get several draft picks, I have a hard time seeing this scenario manifest into reality. The Thunder already owe $28.4 million in dead cap for its 2022-23 season payroll with Kemba Walker an Kyle Singler, adding nearly double that with Westbrook’s $47.1 million would be a huge pill to swallow for Clay Bennett and Thunder ownership. Even if Westbrook gives some of his salary back in order to get bought out, that’s still a huge amount to pay for what I assume will be a couple of lightly-protected first-round picks.
