LeBron James has to live with the fallout of the Russell Westbrook trade

Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James has to live with the consequences of the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade he pushed his team’s front office to make, opines Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Goodwill writes that, whether James cooked up the Westbrook deal or merely advocated for the idea, his interest in the idea ultimately compelled Los Angeles team president Rob Pelinka to pull the trigger, and the Lakers are now struggling to stay afloat, currently the ninth seed in the West.

After the Lakers wasted most of their assets in acquiring Westbrook from the Wizards and opting not to re-sign stellar defensive guard Alex Caruso over the summer, they had their hands tied at the trade deadline this past Thursday, and opted to stand pat. Beyond the maximum salaries of James, the tough-to-trade Westbrook, and big man Anthony Davis, the Lakers had just two players, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn, making more than the veteran’s minimum. Horton-Tucker has struggled in an expanded role, while the injured Nunn has yet to play a single game with L.A.

There’s more out of Lakerland:

• Anthony Davis discussed his sense of relief following the trade deadline, now that the Lakers know their personnel heading toward the end of the season. Per Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated (Twitter link), Davis acknowledged that the end of the deadline has “lifted weight off the [team’s] shoulders. This is our team, let’s go.”
• Following the Lakers’ inactive trade deadline, Los Angeles head coach Frank Vogel also expressed his optimism for the home stretch of the 2021-22 season, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It’s a new day,” Vogel said. “I think there’s just a natural reset energy to our group, knowing that the trade deadline has passed. This is the group that we put together to start the year. This is a group we believe in.” That group has led the Lakers, currently on a three-game losing streak, to a 26-31 record and the ninth seed in the Western Conference.
• One of the lone bright spots in this disappointing Lakers season has been the play of rookie shooting guard Austin Reaves, who has emerged as reliable contributor on both ends of the court. Reaves, 23, initially signed a two-way contract with the Lakers after going undrafted out of Oklahoma this summer, although he saw that deal converted to a standard NBA contract before the start of the 2021-22 season. Reaves has emerged as a clutch role player of late, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times details. “He’s got a great computer to process help and see whether if he’s going to shoot or whether he’s going to make the extra pass and obviously he’s got a lot of guts to make big shots,” Frank Vogel said. “And he really competes on the defensive end and has a good IQ down on that end.” LeBron James also raved about the youngster. “Nothing has impressed me anymore on Austin,” James said. “I mean, he’s been doing it all year when he’s had the opportunity. … He’s made big plays over and over offensively and defensively.”