Rockets Reportedly Willing to Trade For Russell Westbrook if Lakers Include Certain Incentives

The Los Angeles Lakers have to make a move to save their season. The team entered the 2021-22 NBA season as favorites to win the title, but things went terribly wrong. How will General Manager Rob Pelinka handle the pressure? The team may consider calling the Houston Rockets to trade Russell Westbrook. They may be the perfect trade partner for Broddie.

The only obstacle is his deal. Westbrook will get $44.2 million for this season and is set to earn $47.1 million if he decides to stay with the team. Broddie struggles to make an impact with the Lakers which makes things even more difficult. NBA teams won’t trade for an expensive player who has so much going on.

Marc Stein reported that the Houston Rockets may show interest to get Westbrook.

“I have been advised that I should amend my previous characterization of the Lakers’ finding a Westbrook trade from outright impossible to extremely unlikely,” Stein wrote in article published to his Substack. “There is at least one team out there that would take him, league sources say, if the conditions are right.”

“That team, surprisingly, is the Houston Rockets.

“I, like many around the league, was previously under the impression that the Rockets would have less than zero interest in a Westbrook reunion after Houston traded Westbrook to Washington for John Wall in December 2020 shortly before the start of last season.

“I’ve since learned that the Rockets — while indeed holding no interest in having Westbrook play for them again — actually would be amenable to another Westbrook-for-Wall swap if the Lakers incentivized the trade with sufficient draft compensation.”

During his time with the Rockets in 2019-20, Westbrook was averaging 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. His stats with the Lakers are a lot lower than this. The Rockets lost James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. Westbrook may not be willing to play without his partner. They were a lethal duo on the floor.

This is just an idea. Anthony Davis will return to the floor, and so will Kendrick Nunn. If Westbrook struggles to perform once the team is 100% healthy, Pelinka will undoubtedly get rid of him.