Once the door to a Russell Westbrook trade has been opened, it’s hard to close, especially with LeBron turning 37 end of this month. While Russ has been playing well, the Lakers would be negligent not to look at all options.
The question with Russ has never been about his talent but his fit on a Lakers team that needs to surround LeBron and AD with shooters. As expected, Russ has slowly and surely started to find his way and play well. The Lakers’ problem is they don’t have the trading chips to fix their current roster imbalance and acquire impactful talent with the size and defensive chops they need to become legitimate championship contenders.
The Lakers’ problems are two-fold. First, their only tradable assets who are not minimum salary or superstar players are Talen Horton-Tucker ($10 million for 3 years) and Kendrick Nunn ($5 million per year for 2 years). Second, their only other possible trading chip, since they’re not going to trade LeBron or AD, is Russell Westbrook, whose $91 million contract over the next two years makes finding willing trading partners a challenge.
The solution is to package 32-year old Russell Westbrook with 21-year old Talen Horton-Tucker, who’s shown the potential to become a dynamic two-way star, and Kendrick Nunn, another rising young star to sweeten the deal. Packaging Russ with THT and Nunn opens the door from both a talent and financial standpoint for the Lakers to make the kind of major upgrades to their starting lineup and rotations they could not have otherwise made.
Here are three blockbuster trades built around Russell Westbrook and THT that solve the Lakers’ roster imbalance and make them bigger and better defensively and offensively and a legitimate championship contender.
1. Indiana Pacers: Myles Turner, Caris LeVert, and T.J. Warren
Myles Turner, Center: 12.9/7.4/1.0 on 51.3/36.4/74.7%
Caris LeVert, Shooting Guard: 16.3/2.7/3.3 on 44.0/29.8/80.4%
T.J. Warren, Small Forward: 19.8/4.2/1.5 on 53.6/40.3/81.9% (2019)
This trade tops the list of potential Lakers trades because it’s the perfect solution for what is a growing concern about Anthony Davis’ physical and mental ability to play center without more front court size and defense.
While the Pacers are rebuilding, they’re not going to completely tear it down so they need a combination of impact talent to help them compete at a higher level plus young players or picks to insure future growth. Russell Westbrook gives the Pacers the on-court catalyst to help ignite a fire and transform them into playoff team in the East with Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn filling in the roster as proven young talent with upside.
Myles Turner starting at center is the key for the Lakers as it allows Frank Vogel to play his preferred two-big lineups, Anthony Davis his preferred power forward, and LeBron James his preferred small forward position. The Lakers could also leave the trade open like the Wizards did with Westbrook and look to upgrade Warren and LeVert for a starting point guard. The key is acquiring Turner so AD only has to play the five part-time.
The Lakers could play LeBron at the one with Reaves at the two, Warren at the three, Davis at the four, and Turner at the Five. That’s a big lineup that can play small with five out sets or go big and play bully ball in the paint.
PG: LEBRON JAMES, Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas
SG: AUSTIN REAVES, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington
SF: T.J.WARREN, Caris LeVert, Kent Bazemore
PF: ANTHONY DAVIS, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza
CE: MYLES TURNER, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan
2. Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons, Danny Green, and Furkan Korkmaz
Ben Simmons, Point Guard: 14.3/7.2/6.9 on 55.7/30.0/61.3% (2020)
Danny Green, Shooting Guard: 7.0/2.7/1.2 on 41.5/38.3/100.0%
Furkan Korkmaz, Shooting Guard: 8.4/2.9/2.4 on 37.4/29.5/82.1%
While Russell Westbrook is not on the Sixers’ list of 30 players for whom they’re willing to trade Ben Simmons, the Lakers should be patient because it’s unlikely any team is going to offer more than Russ for Ben.
The 76ers are in a tough situation, currently sitting in 9th place in the East and in the midst of a 3-game losing streak. They desperately need to make a move to trade Ben for a point guard who can lead them to the playoffs. Westbrook is the best point guard the Sixers are going to be able to trade for and Daryl Morey will eventually realize that and make the necessary move to trade Ben Simmons for the best they can get to save their season.
For the Lakers, swapping Russell Westbrook for Ben Simmons gives them the size and defense they need to be a legitimate championship contenders and a rare third All-NBA defender who can guard all five positions. Ultimately, the Lakers could move Simmons from point guard to power forward or small ball center, a position that would optimize Ben’s great defensive ability and allow him to play point center ala Nikola Jokic.
The Lakers could play Ben at the one with Reaves at the two, Green at the three, LeBron at the four, and Davis at the Five. That too is a big lineup that can play small with five out sets or go big and play bully ball in the paint.
PG: BEN SIMMONS, Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas
SG: AUSTIN REAVES, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington
SF: DANNY GREEN, Furkan Korkmaz, Kent Bazemore,
PF: LEBRON JAMES, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza
CE: ANTHONY DAVIS, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan
3. Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Josh Richardson
Jaylen Brown, Shooting Guard: 21.1/5.4/2.4 on 46.6/38.4/75.4%
Marcus Smart, Shooting Guard: 11.0/4.0/5.6 on 38.3/27.6/76.4%
Josh Richardson, Shooting Guard: 9.9/2.8/1.2 on 46.0/37.5/81.6%
The Boston Celtics are another team struggling against expectations this season and desperately looking for a point guard who can run the offense. Russell Westbrook would be a major upgrade over Marcus Smart.
The Celtics are currently sitting in 8th place in the East with a 15–15 record. There have been conflicts and squabbles between Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jason Tatum over sharing the ball and shooting too much. With a new GM and head coach, Boston needs a major move to resurrect their season and trading Brown, Smart, and Richardson for Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and Nunn is the bold move they need to get back on track.
For the Lakers, Jaylen Brown is the perfect third superstar to replace Russell Westbrook. Brown is a 20-points per game scorer who shoots 38.4% on 7 threes per game. At 6′ 6,” 223 lbs, Brown’s a perfect fit at the three. Smart would be an ideal point guard and huge upgrade defensively for the Lakers. While he’s a streaky and sometimes unreliable 3-point shooter like Westbrook, Smart’s All-NBA defense is a perfect fit on the Lakers.
The Lakers could play Smart at the one with Reaves at the two, Brown at the three, LeBron at the four, and Davis at the Five. Another big lineup with the versatility to play small ball or go big with bully ball in the paint.
PG: MARCUS SMART, Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas
SG: AUSTIN REAVES, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington
SF: JAYLEN BROWN, Josh Richardson, Kent Bazemore,
PF: LEBRON JAMES, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza
CE: ANTHONY DAVIS, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan
The simple fact that the Lakers have had internal discussions about trading Russell Westbrook less than six months with just 30 games after trading most of their available assets for him tells you Los Angeles is not afraid to admit a mistake and at least look at the opportunities to correct the mistake. That’s a lot better than burying your head in the sane and refusing to adjust.
Whether they can find a trading partner to take on Russ $91 million over two years will likely depend on what the Lakers are willing to add to Russ to make a more palatable package. Since the Lakers are not going to trade LeBron or AD, THT and Nunn are the only non-minimum contracts with value. Thus the best package the Lakers can put together to upgrade their starting lineup and rotations is Russ, THT, and Nunn. If needed, we can also throw in the 2027 first round pick.
I’ve included the basic stats and shooting splits for each of the three players the Lakers would get for Russ, THT, and Nunn as well as a proposed starting lineup and rotations. Each of the three trades brings the Lakers back a potential third star as well as more size and defense. Whether the packages offered will be good enough for the players targeted will depend on how the various trade targets perform over the next six weeks.
There’s no question the Lakers may end up waiting until this summer to seriously try to trade Russ, who would be an expiring contract at that point in time but LeBron turns 37 on Dec 30 and his championship window opening is getting smaller every day. That’s why the Lakers will look to trade Russ and why THT and Nunn will need to be included to attract possible trade partners.
Top priority and the move I think makes the most sense is the Lakers trading with the Pacers for Myles Turner, T.J. Warren, and Caris LeVert. Next would be a trade for Ben Simmons, Danny Green, and Furkan Korkmaz. Last would be a trade for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Josh Richardson. All are certainly long shots that would shock the entire NBA.
Lakers going to need to do something dramatic in this third Covid driven season. Let me know what you think of these three trades? Thanks.
I used Fanspo.Com’s Trade Machine for the above three trades. They use the LEBRON (Luck-adjusted player Estimate using a Box prior Regularized ON-off) impact data provided by BBall Index to rate how the trade works for each team.
Here are the results of the three trades:
Russ, THT, & Nunn for Turner, LeVert, and Warren
Lakers -6 wins, Pacers +6 wins
Russ, THT, & Nunn for Simmons, Green, and Korkmaz
Lakers -1 win, Sixers +1 win
Russ, THT, & Nunn for Brown, Smart, Richardson
Lakers -4 wins, Pacers +4 wins
All three trades favor Lakers trade partner.
I think the Lakers would be worse off if they trade worse unless it’s for Dame which won’t be happening. You either need an elite shot maker or trove of above average players. Anything less is really just moving pieces around the board but with less time to incorporate them and get them up to speed. While of course any and all of the trades tossed around are possible and the Lakers will likely at least kick the tires on more than one I think it’ll take a lot more losing for the Lakers to truly entertain this notion.