When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for perennial All-Star guard Russell Westbrook last summer, many expected them to contend for the NBA championship this season.
But that lofty goal has not exactly come to pass, and Westbrook has been made the scapegoat for the team’s problems, leading many to call for the triple-double king to be traded.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, he and team management have “mutual interest” as far as sending him to a new team this offseason.
Reportedly, L.A. had, at the very least, exploratory talks about trading Westbrook prior to the trade deadline.
One hot rumor had him packing his bags for Houston, with the Lakers also giving up their 2027 first-round draft pick and getting former All-Star guard John Wall in return.
But L.A. said no because it didn’t want to give up draft capital to jettison Westbrook.
The market for him may be better this summer, partly because he would be entering the final year of his humongous contract. Next season is a player option, but with about $47 million owed to him, it seems very unlikely Westbrook would opt out.
Given that L.A. reportedly turned down at least one Westbrook trade, perhaps the team won’t actually pull the trigger this summer unless it feels it would be getting reasonable value in return.
LeBron James will be entering the final year of his own contract, so it seems prudent that the Lakers make one last attempt at winning another world championship, otherwise he may start counting down the days until he leaves the team.
