“It’s obvious they’re trying to move him”: NBA executive on Lakers parting ways with Russell Westbrook to improve roster before the deadline
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Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook so far this season has been the most criticized player in the league all due to his shooting slumps, turnovers, low IQ gameplay and chemistry issue. The Los Angeles Lakers this offseason acquired him in a trade exchange for their young core as LeBron James and Anthony Davis recruited him to join the Lake-nation and form a Big-3. The trio of Lakers’ Big-3 is known as 360⁰ but still, they aren’t an all-around trio who can step up and deliver while winning games.
Currently, only LeBron James is seen stepping up and delivering for the team but his MVP calibre performances aren’t enough for the team to win it all. Anthony Davis has become an injury-prone player who being the second-best player on the team has played the least number of games from the rest of the starters and was ranked at the bottom in terms of efficiency earlier in the season. On the other hand, Russell Westbrook is still not fitting in the roster due to his slumps and poor performance while they and the media use him as a scapegoat to get away with the loss.
Russell still lacks efforts and chemistry with the team since it’s his first year in the purple and gold uniform but the MVP capabilities of his looked washed away. So far this season Brodie has averaged 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game. Something none expected the Mr. Triple Double to do alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis. This season so far has been the worst of his career as his defensive skills are also not the same.
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t want to waste another season of LeBron James beside them when there are rumors of him leaving the team already out in the air. So the front office is already active from the past month and the radar is hot and on but no changes so far have been made in the roster. With only some days remaining for the deadline, the management and desk looks to trade away many potential players of theirs to improve and have a good run this offseason.
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An NBA executive on Lakers trying to trade away Russell Westbrook
Recently an unnamed NBA executive told Heavy.com that the Lakers want to part ways with Russell as he quoted: “It’s obvious they’re trying to move Westbrook, which is damn near impossible. They know that roster’s just not working.” The executive can be very right with this as the team in the past tried acquiring many guards but failed as no one is interested in getting the 33-year-old veteran point guard Russ on their board.
One of the biggest reasons for Russell Westbrook being side-lined on the trade block is his contract where he receives $44.2 plus million this year and $47.1 plus million the next year while having a player option active. The second reason can also be his slowed-down low paced game which isn’t as athletic as it was because of the growing age where he has lost some inches in his dominating vertical.
But still, the Lakers have some games left to pick up with the chemistry and let Russ improve so they can find a way through the playoffs if they aren’t successful in trading away Russ before the deadline. Russell Westbrook is a sure Hall of Famer and is still a top-5 guard in the league in terms of scoring and athleticism so it isn’t that hard for him to find his way back and dominate again. As the only reason for him to join the Lakers was to win a championship.
Also Read: Lakers coach Frank Vogel reveals the shocking reason for benching Russell…
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Ritik Malik
(1743 Articles Published)