Likelihood of Russell Westbrook Trade After Lakers’ ‘Covert Interest’ in Deal

The Los Angeles Lakers gave up on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and two picks to get Russell Westbrook, but some would say this trade deal didn’t bring any good to the Lakers. How will NBA analysts interpret the latest development of events?

LA entered the 2021-22 NBA season as favorites to win the title. Things went terribly wrong and the team lost 19 games. They were supposed to win more games than expected. Well, it didn’t happen. LeBron James missed too much time, and Anthony Davis is still out. Their absence put a spell on the roster. Is Westbrook the right player to take the third position behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis?

Russell Westbrook to be added to another trade deal?

The Athletic reported that the Lakers tried to trade Westbrook earlier in the regular season. It was just an idea and the plan didn’t lead to anything serious.

“All of which explains why sources say the Lakers showed some covert interest in discussing a possible Westbrook trade with rival executives earlier this season. A deal appears extremely unlikely before the Feb. 15 trade deadline, if only because his deal that was once seen by so many as untradeable is such a massive obstacle. But inside the Lakers, it seems, there is some recognition that this hasn’t gone as (James and Davis had) planned.”

One thing stands for sure. Westbrook won’t leave the Lakers in the next few seasons. The team won’t even try to get rid of him just because he is set to earn a lot of money. No one would ever trade for a player who is making $44 million.

If you are interested into numbers, Broddie is averaging 19.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. Rob Pelinka thought that Westbrook would provide better numbers. That’s why they gave up on three talented players. Kuzma is playing with the Washington Wizards now and he has seen great improvement since leaving the Lakers. Did LA make a mistake? It doesn’t seem like Westbrook will make more mistakes at this point. He got used to the system.