Russell Westbrook has broken the hearts of Los Angeles Lakers fans the world over. But the Purple & Gold should view the latest rejection as a blessing and focus on building homegrown stars.
Laker Nation had been reassured for years that Russell Westbrook would return home as the prodigal son who takes Kobe Bryant’s place.
Even skeptical analysts gave into the Westbrook-to-L.A. hype.
Barely 24 hours after Kevin Durant’s decision to bolt for Golden State, the rumor mill was rampant about Los Angeles Lakers potentially willing to trade assets for Westbrook.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that the 16-time champions would be Westbrook’s preferred destination if Sam Presti failed to convince the athletic guard to sign an extension.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Los Angeles Lakers
In early 2015, rapper Snoop Dogg began his way-too-early recruitment pitch by posting a picture of Westbrook in a Lakers jersey with the caption, “Come on home”.
On Thursday, Westbrook shattered the hearts of scores of Lakers fans. And teammate Enes Kanter took a timely dig at the fanbase.
https://twitter.com/Enes_Kanter/status/761100495691722752
The Lakers, a proud franchise with a championship-or-bust mentality, need to view this latest rejection as a blessing in disguise.
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Golden State Warriors and/or Cleveland Cavaliers are winning the next few titles. The Spurs and Clippers are their only legitimate threats. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers are the next wave of teams likely to close the gap.
Westbrook’s arrival wouldn’t have resulted in a championship. Surely, he would have helped the Lakers end their three-year playoff drought but that doesn’t mean much in the bigger picture. Just look at the Memphis Grizzlies who seem destined to remain in the middle of the pack.
More hoops habit: Kobe Bryant's 50 Greatest Moments
Who were the Lakers planning to pair with Westbrook to pursue their next banner? A bunch of rookies and sophomores who may turn into good players in a few years?
The Lakers have exhausted a ton of salary cap on Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. They’d be able to pursue only one max-level player next summer.
Mitch Kupchak & Co. didn’t have the talent pool or recent offseason success to entice Westbrook, a player in the peak of his prime, who needs to be playing with fellow all-stars to challenge the Warriors, Clippers and Spurs for a shot at LeBron James.
Build around Russell, Ingram
To acquire Westbrook via trade, the Purple & Gold would have likely given up both D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram. That wouldn’t have been a wise move.
The Lakers need to roll with their kids. There are many positives here. For one, the trade rumors surrounding Russell and Ingram can end. Coach Luke Walton must view the talented tandem as franchise cornerstones and patiently build around them.
Westbrook and Durant won 23 games in their first year together. Russell and Ingram don’t warrant a comparison.
But Durant reckons Ingram is more NBA-ready than he was at the same age. And Russell’s recent experience of scrimmaging with Team USA earned him the praise of Gregg Popovich and Paul George.
Westbrook and Durant won 50 games in their second year together. But Lakers fans best be advised to lower their expectations. But they could be nearing the 50-win mark by the 2018-19 season.
If anything, one would bet on Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins winning 50 games in their second year together, the upcoming season.
The Lakers aren’t ending their free agency superstar drought soon. A glance over the class of 2017 doesn’t exude much confidence. Stephen Curry isn’t going anywhere. Chris Paul is not moving to the weaker L.A. team.
Blake Griffin would likely team up with Wesbtrook in his hometown team or stay put with the Clippers. The Bucks would secure Giannis Antetokounmpo as the face of the franchise that moves to a new arena in 2018. Gordon Hayward would likely reunite with Brad Stevens in Boston.
They aren’t getting any star free agents next year either. It’s just not going to happen.
For the Lakers to return to relevance, the only hope is that Russell and/or Ingram turn into all-stars. The likes of Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Larry Nance are promising talents. Even 18-year-old center Ivica Zubac has shown advanced footwork and instincts for a project from Europe.
But Russell and Ingram were No. 2 picks for a reason.
Now, the Lakers can focus on their young team instead of daydreaming about the arrival of the next superstar. If the Warriors are the new standard of excellence, their formula preaches building through the draft and that’s exactly what the Lakers must do.
And besides, the Lakers could have the next Zen Master in the midst.
"“He (Luke Walton) was an average player with a messed-up back. I said, ‘Dude, if this is not Phil (Jackson). … Dude, you’re a hippie, 6-9 or whatever it is.’ I used to rib him all that time about that. But honestly, he always had a brilliant mind, understanding flow and tempo and spacing and how to manage a team the right way and things like that,” Kobe Bryant said of Walton earlier this year."
More hoops habit: 50 Most Underrated Players In NBA History
The Lakers are many years away from banner No. 17. Russell Westbrook wasn’t the answer.