Breaking news: LA Lakers finally sign back Russell Westbrook for a deal of $160 Million’s… See more…
More than two months after LeBron James and Anthony Davis first followed his wife on Instagram and prompted trade rumors that the Lakers wanted to acquire him, Russell Westbrook is finally a Laker.
The 2017 MVP asked the Wizards to send him home to Los Angeles, and after several hours of public leaks and negotiations, he has gotten his wish.
The freshly opted in Montrezl Harrell is on the way to Washington, along with Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, as well as the Lakers’ 22nd overall pick. The Lakers will be getting two second-round picks in return, according to Shams Charania of the Athletic:
Westbrook will also ease the offensive load on James and Davis, giving the Lakers the sort of playmaker they’ve been long-rumored to covet. He can also serve as a capable central hub of the offense on nights when LeBron sits out, and absolutely wreck teams while leading non-LeBron bench units.
LeBron’s teams have often struggled when he’s not in the game because their backups can’t replicate what LeBron does. Westbrook, for all his faults, can imitate a poor man’s version of that as well as anyone in the league.
It’s also been clear for a while that the Lakers are not as concerned about shooting as many other teams around the league. Rather than prioritize shooters, they’re doubling down on their identity of athletic, organized chaos and star power. There is something to be said for knowing what you are.
Crucially, and barring some other player being included in a sign-and-trade to the Lakers if the deal is expanded, this deal allows the Lakers to avoid the hard cap, which could let them to keep players like Talen Horton-Tucker, Alex Caruso and even Dennis Schröder (although that last one seems unlikely). Still, the Lakers are more flexible with this deal than they would be if they were acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade, and that is a positive.
This is a lot to give up, but the Lakers are counting on their talent and figuring out the rest later. Given that they did not seem to really have any desire to keep Schröder, acquiring Westbrook also makes sense as a way to get themselves the third star they have sought, and may have been the best of a lot of not great, hard-cap initiating sign-and-trade options in free agency.
The fit may not be perfect, but there is still a chance the Lakers can figure this out and embrace this new quick, strong and athletic identity en route to title contention.
This is a worthy gamble, even if there is a chance that this much explosiveness and volatility in two offseasons since winning the title results in everything going up in flames.
