The Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards are reportedly working on a deal for Russell Westbrook, in a day where almost any NBA trade rumor can come true.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Westbrook would like to go elsewhere, and the Lakers are Westbrook’s preferred destination.
The Lakers are reportedly working with the Wizards on a deal for Russell Westbrook. What is the framework of this NBA trade rumor for both teams?
This is absolutely the definition of a blockbuster deal. Westbrook averaged a triple-double once again last season, putting up 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 11.7 assists per game as the Wizards staged a late-season run to get back into the play-in picture and ultimately made the playoffs.
His massive contract (two years, $91.3 million remaining) means that the salary threshold to trade for him is steep, so let’s take a look at just what is rumored to be in this package so far as of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s last update:
Earlier Thursday, Montrezl Harrell took the first step to facilitating this deal by opting into his $9 million 2021-22 salary, and the Lakers would be adding $8.4 million in salary 2021-22 salary thanks to the $44.2 million Westbrook will make next season.
According to Woj, the remaining hangups with this deal surround the specific draft compensation the Wizards would acquire, whether it be the Lakers’ 22nd overall pick in Thursday’s draft, or second-round picks down the road. Needless to say, those issues should be fairly easy to resolve.
As for the Wizards, this may be a deal to free up space to potentially build around Bradley Beal, who is unlikely to want out of Washington. They are placing more confidence in their ability to build with younger tradeable players like Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Harrell than in their ability to compete at a high level with a declining Russell Westbrook.
It’s a fair bet on their part.
The clock is ticking on the Lakers and Wizards, so let’s keep an eye on how things develop between them this evening.