After the Suns eliminated the Lakers in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, many people wondered what moves they could make to try to have a chance to win a championship.
There was one name that kept on popping up. Current Washington Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook helped lead the Wizards to the playoffs after a rough start to a season.
Westbrook is a great player, and if the Wizards want to have a chance to be competitive, they should keep him. However, at some point, the Wizards have to realize that they have a small chance to win a championship with the group of players they have. It would be best for them to start the rebuild by trading Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers know that the West is a gauntlet year in and year out. They also know their best player Lebron James is getting older, so they need to surround him with players that can take the load off him. If you add Westbrook to the equation, he can not only take the load off Lebron but also fill the point guard position if Dennis Shroeder leaves in free agency.
Skyler Trepel, a staff writer with Lakers Nation, appeared on an episode of Laker Nation on YouTube and gave his opinion on what Westbrook could bring to the Lakers.
“I think Russell Westbrook with Lebron James where they can actually alleviate some of each other’s playmaking duties. They can form a big three; sign me up for that! Having a big three of that nature would be so exciting to watch. Westbrook, who is a Southern California kid, would be so motivated to play of the Los Angeles Lakers, and he has that killer mentality. He is a Kobe guy. I could see them finding a way to make it work together,” said Trepel.
If the Lakers could acquire Westbrook via trade, they would need to avoid giving one of their best 3&D players on the team in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Anybody else on the roster outside the core of James, Davis, and Caldwell-Pope can go.
After they get Westbrook, the number one priority in free agency should surround their three best players with shooting and players who can guard multiple positions because that wins today’s NBA.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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