Ever since being moved to a sixth-man role early this season, Russell Westbrook has staged an impressive turnaround for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nowadays, he helps spark the team in a positive way, as opposed to the perception that he was nothing more than an albatross last season. More recently, he has upped his game more, averaging 22.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists while shooting 48.3% overall and 36.4% from 3-point range in his last seven games.
Because of his improved play, the Lakers have reportedly been reluctant to trade him, which is a remarkable development after they seemingly were almost desperate to find a taker for many months.
But according to one Western Conference executive’s conversation with Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney, they’re still canvassing the NBA to see if there are any Westbrook trade scenarios that would improve their roster.
Via Heavy.com (h/t Lakers Daily):
“During Deveney’s discussion with the Western Conference executive, some additional trade options for Westbrook were discussed, with the onus being on taking back longer-term contracts to sweeten any potential deal,” Heavy.com’s Adam Taylor wrote.
Los Angeles is 20-24 and only 2.5 games behind the sixth spot in the Western Conference. With Anthony Davis inching closer to a return, perhaps the team can salvage something this season with the right trade.
