Although it is generally believed that the Los Angeles Lakers are about to seriously shop Russell Westbrook, there are a few people who believe they should keep the nine-time All-Star.
One of those observers is Shaquille O’Neal, the legendary Lakers center.
He said so while also talking about how the rest of the team needs to get younger to compensate for the fact that Westbrook is 33 and LeBron James is 37.
Via Lakers Daily:
“After a wildly disappointing 2021-22 campaign, the team is going to need to make some changes this summer in order to contend next season.
“Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal recently offered his take on how L.A. should approach things. He thinks the team should keep its trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook intact and add some youth around those guys.
“’I think they definitely have to get younger,’ O’Neal told Reuters.
“’So if they can keep LeBron, Russell and AD, everyone else needs to be very young. You can’t have five or six guys in their upper 30s because the league is getting younger and faster.’”
The biggest reasons most would argue L.A. needs to deal Westbrook are his contract, which will pay him $47 million next season and make it difficult for the team to upgrade its roster, and the tension between him and his teammates and coaches.
The Lakers were also one of the oldest teams in NBA history this year, and the lack of youth and athleticism interfered with their ability to be a decent, let alone a great defensive team.
