Lakers Predicted to Mortgage Future to Trade Russell Westbrook

The Los Angeles Lakers will have to play smart this offseason. They finished the regular season a little too early this time. The front office has plenty of time to rearrange the roster. Is Russell Westbrook the next to go? LA has already fired head coach Frank Vogel. The Lakers have to plan their future and finding a trade partner for Westbrook is a must.

What’s the first thing on Pelinka’s list? Finding a new head coach? Finding the right trade partner for Westbrook?

Brodie has one year remaining on his contract and he is set to earn $47 million. Getting rid of him won’t be really easy. The Houston Rockets showed interest in getting Russ, but Pelinka didn’t want to give up on a first-round pick. The Rockets wanted the All-Star and a first-rounder. LA is in a bad position right now and they really need the first-round picks to reshape the roster.

Lakers to plan their future and potential trade options for Westbrook

The Lakers pulled out a big trade for Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans have most of their future draft picks. Well, Pelinka can still play with the picks for 2027 and 2029. We have a few reasons to believe that the Lakers won’t give up on these picks. Gettign Westbrook was a bad move.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported that the Lakers may need to use these picks to handle the “Broddie situation.”

“Based on their deadline activity, and everything that I’ve heard dating back to last season, I think the Lakers are going to do everything they can to retain their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. But if trading one of the picks is the best path to dumping Westbrook and/or significantly improving the roster, I think they will strongly consider it. They are in the win-now business with James and Davis,” Buha wrote.

LeBron James makes everything even more difficult. He won’t play forever and the Lakers will have to get the best of his playoff window. The Lakers have a few more seasons to get the best of LeBron.