With the 2021-22 NBA regular season over, the Los Angeles Lakers must already be preparing for how to get past this underwhelming year. The Purple & Gold were labeled as one of the top contenders to win the 2022 NBA Championship at the start of the season, but they have failed to reach those expectations.
Moreover, it seems like the team is already planning to blow the superteam experiment that they started at the beginning of the season by adding Russell Westbrook to the team.
During his prime, Russ was an unstoppable force and toyed with opponents on a nightly basis. The Lakers didn't get this version of Brodie, but instead Westbrook never really settled with the team.
Keeping that in mind, most fans already believe that the former NBA MVP might have already played his final game in a Lakers uniform. Additionally, those rumors have been given more fire by Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Via The Forum Club:
"I trust Marc Stein's reporting obviously so I'm gonna include Charlotte in there. I think New York and in that rumored deal that had initially been in some form of Fournier, Kemba, and Julius Randle seem to be very unhappy there. ... I think the other one is just in terms of math and making it work, Houston. ... I guess my top three will probably be again Houston, New York and Charlotte, based on what I’ve heard and what other people have reported."
(starts at 12:00)
Seeing how Russ has performed in the last few years, there are not many teams that'd welcome him to their team. As Buha mentioned, he has had a few great games for the teams that he has played for.
But when it comes to actually elevate and improving a losing team, Brodie is no longer that player. On top of that, he also has a huge contract, which is expiring in 2023, but as of now, it is still there.
Accounting for all these things, it is pretty hard to predict which team might trade for Westbrook in the future
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