5 biggest NBA storylines going into the 2021-22 season

NBA storylines: 5. Will Russell Westbrook fit with the Lakers?

Russell Westbrook is a polarizing player, to say the least. Some say was the best point guard in the NBA and some say he’s just a stat padder (if you look up the term “stat padder” Westbrook is shown, food for thought).

I sit in the between, he’s a Hall of Famer and is one of the greatest floor raisers in NBA history, but who knows if that contributes to winning championships.

And that is what matters with the Westbrook/Los Angeles Lakers trade most, does Westbrook help LeBron James and Anthony Davis win a championship?

For the past decade, the proof has been in the pudding, putting shooters around Lebron works — Westbrook is a shooter… but not an efficient one. The Lakers 2020 championship was based on defense, and that is something Westbrook has struggled with too in the past few years.

The issue is, Westbrook’s effectiveness with the Lakers can’t be tested until the playoffs – where it’s too late to pull out of the Russell Westbrook experience.

LeBron has plenty of experience around Westbrook. They’ve played against each other countless times in the regular season, in the 2012 NBA Finals and more recently in the 2020 playoffs. They have also played together in All-Star games (2019-2020) and won gold in the London Olympics in 2012 – so LeBron knows what he’s getting into.

Frank Vogel (and let’s be frank, Lebron) will have to convince Westbrook to shoot less from outside, become a cutter, and be more of a pick-and-roll driver with the Lakers.

It’s undeniable that Westbrook’s full-court pace will break open the Lakers’ offense, and there is a lot Frank Vogel can work with there. Nekias Duncan pointed out how the Lakers’ lousy half-court offense could be boosted with Westbrook’s pace, while Zach Lowe reminded us how Westbrook’s defense and his inability off the ball may hurt the Lakers (and both raised concerns about adding a historically inefficient shooter to a LeBron James team too).

Not only is this trade combining three All-Stars, and one of the three greatest players of all time, but it is in Tinseltown. The pairing with Westbrook and the Lakers could be an absolute success or a complete disaster, either way, the purple and gold circus will be one of the biggest storylines this season.