Aloha,
There are two reasons why trading Russ will be harder and likely more expensive.
1. Internal Laker leaks reporting the tension between Russ and the coaching staff.
2. Westbrooks own big mouth.
Everyone in the NBA, with the exception of apparently the Lakers, knew that Russ was a poor fit for LeBron and Franks system. If it was left at that there might have been GM’s that could think that their system and players would be a better fit.
Instead you have Laker insiders reporting of the classes with the coaching staff and Russ. They painted a picture of a player that was un-coachable. Exactly what purpose does that serve? You can always tell when an organization is toxic and dysfunctional because of all these leaks. One thing about Mitch, there never was these kind of reports coming out.
Then Russ goes off on an unhinged toxic exit interview. Many of the reporters wrote that they had never seen anything like it before.
Russ still has skills and could probably help the right team but no GM wants to bring a malcontent into their organization. The Lakers will pay for this and so will Russ, when it’s time for his next contract. .
Good post, Michael. There’s no question that the Lakers’ ownership, front office, and coaching staff have made a lot of poor decisions the past two years that should make any player or coach thinking about joining the team have second thoughts.
We’re just fortunate that we have such an illustrious legacy, history, market, and fanbase that we can often overcome our own misfortunes to win regardless. Truth is we’ve left championships on the table because of incompetence.
Will that apply to teams looking to trade for Russell Westbrook? For those teams who might be thinking Russ they might be able to get a good year out of Russ, hope they didn’t see Russ this past season or hear his exit comments. Russ hasn’t helped his case. He’s essentially closed the door on returning to the Lakers, which other teams cleary see and note.
Fortunately, most of the teams who will be interested in trading for Russ are doing so as a financial transaction and plan on buying Russ out or flipping him at the trade deadline. None of the teams the Lakers are likely to trade Russ to – Pacers, Hornets, Knicks, Thunder, Pistons, and Rockets – are trading for Russ the player. They’re trading for Russ the expiring contract.
I’m more worried about how the Lakers dysfunction could adversely affect the coaching search or recruiting free agents with our MLE or, if we hard cap, our BAE. Those are the places where our incompetence can negatively impact us.
SHHHHHHH! We tryin to trade him, ha, ha.