Russell Westbrook is now a member of the Lakers, and the move came together just as he and L.A.'s superstars planned it.
On Thursday, word emerged that the Lakers pulled off a trade with the Washington Wizards to acquire Westbrook. The Lakers sent Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and a first-round pick to Washington for Westbrook and two future second-round picks.
The trade was culminated two weeks after a big meeting at LeBron James’ house.
According to the LA Times’ Broderick Turner, Westbrook met with Anthony Davis and LeBron at James’ home two weeks ago. There, they discussed teaming up together on the Lakers.
Turner reports that the players agreed to put their egos aside in the interest of pursuing a championship. For instance, James and Davis expressed a willingness to play different positions if necessary. Westbrook said he was willing to play off the ball when James wanted to handle the rock.
The result is the Lakers ended up pursuing and making the trade, with the Wizards fulfilling Westbrook’s desires.
The Lakers will enter the 2021-2022 season as a strong contender to win the championship, just as they did in 2020. The trade also means that Westbrook was one-and-done in DC, just like he was one-and-done in Houston.
Based on his reaction, James seems pretty pumped about having the “Brodie” in the mix.
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