In the blink of an eye, the 2022-23 season will begin! However, Westbrook , which had been deeply involved in trading rumors, is still in the Lakers camp. In the new season, he will compete with new players Beverly and Schroder as the starting point guard position. But what is incredible is that although Lakers coach Darwin Ham is already cheering Westbrook for looking forward to the new season together. But the Lakers management has never promised Westbrook not to trade him, which means Westbrook may face being traded at any time before the trading deadline for next season.
Frankly speaking, Westbrook is really a bit surprising to be still in the Lakers’ camp! After all, it is already well known to the league for the team to trade him, and the fundamental reason why the transaction has not been successful is that his 47 million contract next season has made other teams retreat! Otherwise, Westbrook would probably not be a Lakers player for a long time. After all, he is incompatible with James and the Lakers, and it hurts not only himself, but also the team's record and championship plan! In order to trade Westbrook, Lakers General Manager Pelinka has been rushing to tell him a lot, but the results have been minimal. Because almost no team is willing to take over Westbrook's big contract for no reason, unless the Lakers can compensate for two future first-round picks, the deal is really free of negotiations.
Last season, Westbrook suffered a serious disagreement, which eventually led to the Lakers missing the playoffs , which caused the Lakers, who owned the three giants of James and Wei, to suffer a great humiliation! Originally, Westbrook was the deal to help James , the thick eyebrows again to win the championship, but it did not expect that it would have a counterproductive effect, which was shocking! Since James Davis first collaborated to win the 2020 championship, all they thought was to enter the finals again to compete for the championship. But the reaction of Westbrook's joining can be said to have greatly damaged the vitality of the entire Lakers! So this is also the fundamental reason why Pelinka is eager to trade Westbrook this offseason, because he plans to build a championship lineup around James Davis to continue to compete for the O'Brien Cup, and Westbrook is obviously no longer in the plan. How to send Westbrook away really makes him sleepless!
In previous trading negotiations about Westbrook, the Lakers' bottom line was at most a first-round pick and second-round pick, but refused to provide two first-round picks. However, the situation has changed till now! Because the Lakers' decision-makers are very likely to send away the next two first-round picks with tears in order to achieve their goal in order to create a championship lineup with James and Eyebrow as the core.
days ago, famous reporter Shams wrote an article reporting some trading rumors about the Lakers and Westbrook during the offseason. He said that while Westbrook was not traded in the offseason as many in the league expected, league sources revealed that the possibility of him being traded in the coming weeks and months remains. The Lakers' key decision makers (Pellinka, Jenny Buss and senior basketball consultant Lambis) have "seriously considered" to trade Westbrook and the unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Pacers in exchange for Myers Turner and Buddy Hilde .
This means that at some point in the next time, the Lakers will really pack Westbrook + two first round picks and send them to Pacers , and exchange them for Miles Turner and Hilder . Because these two people are the puzzles needed in the Lakers' championship lineup, one is super defense and the other is super strong outside attack, they can definitely match Zhan Meizhu to join the Lakers at the same time!
It is worth mentioning that James publicly and privately expressed his support for Westbrook, hoping to play with Westbrook again in the new season. So he didn't put pressure on the Lakers management to reach a deal with the Pacers. Although James did not put pressure, the Lakers' decision-makers have already made the wild ideas of Sohamiles Turner and Hilder, because as long as they can help James and Mei win the championship again, everything is worth it, and the Lakers should also bet on this!
