16 Players that will likely change teams by the NBA trade deadline

2. Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers

Despite Russell Westbrook embracing his role off the bench and playing well in that role, he could still be moved ahead of the deadline. At this point, a Westbrook trade is more about his $48 million expiring contract and how it can be potentially used to improve the Lakers’ roster as they make their postseason push. Of course, by moving Westbrook, it likely

means that they would be moving at least one of their future first-round picks, and it’s still unclear whether they will.

If they do, the most obvious trade appears to be a hypothetical deal with San Antonio in which they swap Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks for Jakob Poeltl, Doug McDermott, and Josh Richardson. That could boost their playoff chances, though it could hurt them in the long run.

Pretty much any Westbrook deal will likely come with that tradeoff, which makes his being traded appear to be a 50-50 proposition. Still, after trading for Hachimura, it seems that that was only the appetizer for a bigger Lakers move, and dealing Westbrook would certainly be a full-course move. However, it may not sit well with them in the long run.