The NBA is entering the home stretch of the 2021-22 season and Laker fans have all but tuned out the games as they had been riveted first by a coaching search (now complete and welcome to the dumpster fire Coach Ham!) and now by the ponderous and burdensome search for a palatable trade for one Russell Westbrook. What tastes good to fans seemingly isn’t acceptable to Rob Pelinka and the Laker ownership cabal. With the news coming from the internet that the Lakers are unwilling to attach future draft considerations to a Westbrook trade, Russ signaling his enthusiasm for Ham’s hiring, and the tepid market for Westbrook in general it would seem the Lakers are headed towards a second season of our version of a Big Three. So, while this writer has long been of the opinion there was a decent to good chance that Russ would continue his career in the purple and gold, I wanted to look at some things that just might change the equation for trading Russ.
- The Lakers move off their current and alleged stance of no future draft considerations attached in a deal for Westbrook. While this may seem the obvious choice to some it’s not a reach to understand where Rob is coming from in publicly declaring such a stance. First off, the term “news flash” does not apply to anything related to the Lakers wanting to move off the Westbrook contract and improve the roster or at least make a decent lateral move. File that one under “No Doy, Man”. So Rob could be deploying an absurd stratagem of “Nuh-Uh, Dude, we WANT to keep Russ, like, fer sure, man!!!!” because like any desperate gambler you have to at least try a bluff when you’re down in chips, short on assets and daylight is creeping into the room signaling that tomorrow has arrived. I actually think Rob is serious when he says he’d rather ride it out. There are quite a few benefits the most obvious being that if the three core players can play more the team will perform better. Russell will be an unrestricted free agent next season and could either be retained on a team-friendly extension or seek employment elsewhere thus freeing up a plethora of cap space to rebuild the roster. Again. For the third time since winning a title.
- Damien Lillard demands a trade. This is one of the things that I could see severely altering the NBA landscape. If Dame Time decides he wants no part of a Portland rebuild it’s easy to see a plethora of teams looking to get in on that action. While I don’t think the Lakers have an attractive trade package to offer Portland they could potentially get in on a multiteam deal that facilitates Russ being moved elsewhere. Trading for Dame would probably take better draft assets than we currently have. Could the Lakers up the ante and look to include THT, Nunn, Reaves, Johnson, Gabriel both draft picks and bring back Lillard and Bledsoe? Honestly…I’m not sure I would make that deal…but that is the kind of thing that could potentially alter the equation for a Westbrook trade.
- Donovan Mitchell demands a trade. With the news that Quinn Snyder has walked away from his coaching gig in Utah came the not really surprising news that Donovan Mitchell is uneasy with the direction of the franchise and is seeking some form of re-assurement. If he doesn’t get that it’s possible he could demand a trade. Like Damien this has the potential to shift the NBA landscape. While it would make a lot more sense for the Jazz to try and move Gobert let’s assume for the sake of this article that Spida is adamant about changing teams. If so the Lakers could be in the position of trading Russ, the draft picks and Nunn (should he opt in) for Spida, Clarkson and Gay which would be the kind of cap space that would allow Utah to revamp the roster. Again, the issue with that kind of trade is that Utah isn’t really a destination franchise, especially with a star player asking out, a coach walking away, and, well, Utah. So it’s hard for one to imagine a bevy of free agents going there but you never know. Ainge could be in a place where he’s excited about a total rebuild and while this trade is short on draft assets it does get three large money players off the book and give Utah a ton of flexibility to either tear it down more by trading Rudy.
- Utah looks to appease Spida by trading Rudy Gobert and Rudy Gay. Had Coach Snyder stayed in Utah I really wouldn’t see this happening. Donovan and Rudy have had their differences, ironed them out, and more differences came up. While adding Russell to Utah’s roster without moving Mike Conley doesn’t make a ton of sense they could pursue a separate Conley trade elsewhere. Russ for Rudy squared works in the trade machine and, in theory, Utah might not ask for a pick to get it done in order to keep Mitchell happy. There are few centers with the defensive acumen that Gobert has. While assuredly not a stretch five does it really matter? You allow AD to play the 4 for the next 4 years left on Gobert’s deal, you have the lob threat LeBron loves to work with and as elite a defender as you can find in the NBA. You can bench him in the playoffs and go small without worry because you have Davis on the roster. While not the NBA altering deal the above are this one is a little easier to imagine going through given the news out of Utah.
- Zach LaVine pulls an AD. This one, in my opinion, is dream fodder. LaVine isn’t the talent AD was, Chicago ain’t the Pelicans in terms of calling a bluff, and LaVine will find a dry market when it comes to major franchises. Cap space is low across the league and the pool of talent is small. So, unless Zach has an itch for max money in OKC his best shot is to stay right where he is. But, again, for the sake of the article if Zach and Klutch did try and maneuver him to LA in a S&T that’s really the last option I see the Lakers having in terms of a realistic Russ trade that also opens the door back to contention.
In my opinion it will take a superstar demanding to move that represents a clear improvement to the team for Rob to move off his draft pick stance. I can still see them trading for John Wall straight up or even maybe Gordon Hayward and some junk but neither of those gets the team to the NBA Finals again. Who knows what Wall has left and Hayward is the small forward version of Davis: solid when healthy but can’t be counted on to be available when they’re needed most, or at all. For my part I’d rather keep Russ than trade for a broken player or one like Wall who’s skillset largely mirrors Westbrook’s but hasn’t played in what will be just under two years when next season rolls around. You don’t get better that way, you just get older. After that I doubt there’s much interest from team’s that made the playoffs this season or had down years like Atlanta and New York. A Russ trade is one that signals a full rebuild, or as close as you get to one, and neither of those teams are i that position. They’re looking for improvements on the margin, little tweaks to the roster not wholesale tear-downs. That is the issue with the size of Russ’s deal: there just aren’t many teams looking for that level of restructuring this summer. The playin and lottery tweaks have made the league tilt towards wanting to be competitive all season long since your draft odds don’t dramatically shift with losing. We’ve already seen how teams in the playin one season can ascend to really competitive the following one in Memphis, how chemistry builds a winner in Milwaukee, and the fact is Russ isn’t the kind of player that alters your trajectory at this point. So my advice to you is invest in trade hopes and dreams but you should also buckle up and prepare yourself to ride this out with Russ on the roster.
The Lakers are apparently going to go into the offseason playing your Bring Back Russ song, Jamie. Could Russ actually be self aware enough to understand that this could be something that could save his career? Could Darvin be so convincing he could get Russ to buy in to changing his spots like a leopard turning into a tiger? That’s what it would take for this to work in my opinion.
Still have to believe Lakers aren’t foolish enough to take back Russ but are just trying to rehabilitate his reputation so they can trade him as hoped. What this probably does mean, however, the Lakers are not 100% sure they can move Russ. Just think it would be a monumental mistake to think Russ could change or that keeping him could be better than moving him. Dumb to double down on Russ becoming a winner.
Never said I advocated/wanted Russ to be brought back. In fact, on both podcasts and in print I’ve said the opposite.
It’s just there is definitely a law of diminishing returns on a Russ deal in the current climate. He didn’t play well, we didn’t do well and no big name is coming onto the market this summer or next that you NEED to clear that much space for. No team is going to play a 6-10 million dollar player 12-15 just because they have a lot of cap space. Couple that with the notion that Russ will likely not leave much cash on the table in a buyout scenario and voila! The theory of Russ not being traded is born.
Rob is also more of an agent. This shows in how he built the roster last summer thinking veteran knowhow would coalesce and triumph over youth and athleticism. What happened? Lakers got run out of the gym more often than not and we sent out emergency beacons to every player under 28 that wasn’t drafted.
Be curious to see if they bring back Drummond over Howard or kick the tires on signing Hassan Whiteside. Hartenstein is also in that mix. Need to get younger and healthier.
I don’t understand your position. You say you are not in favor of trading Russ yet you support the decision to bring him back? Are you trying to say you think we aren’t going to find a trade for him and you support keeping him in that situation? Just not sure what you’re saying.
My position is the Lakers should trade Russ for whatever they can get, even if it’s just breaking his $47M down into two or three contracts. In fact, one of the goals of trading Russ is taking back less money so we have a chance to get under the hard cap. Frankly, I might even consider waiving and stretching him to get under the hard cap if there really was no trade.
Frankly, there will be trades available if the Lakers are willing to give up a pick, which is why I think this entire bring back Russ scenario is all just posturing. The Lakers are never going to use those picks for 2027 and 2029. They will be traded for players to help win now. We all know that. Russ will be traded. Crow will be eaten. Life will go on.
If we keep Russ, we are totally screwed because we could not hard cap and the only trading chips we would have would then be THT, Nunn, and the 2 picks. Best you could hope for with those chips might be Jerami Grant or OG Anunoby to fill our need for a bigger 3&D wing. Plus what you can get for your $6.3M mini-MLE. Going to be hard to find shooters and defenders without trading Russ. Lakers betting on Ham being able to turn Russ into a great defender and smarter offensive player could lead to second disastrous year.
You forget that I don’t really put myself in the GM shoes or speak as if that was my job. Outsider looking in is more like it.
I don’t think Russ will change, I think Russ did not get a fair shake with the team Rob expected to field and I don’t think Russ much respected Vogel even though he has one more ring than Russ which is to say zero. I think Rob has factored all of that along with what is certain to be a tepid at best trade market for Russ. There will still be fit issues, as there will be if we bring in another ball-dominant player. I don’t ever think the best thing for players like LeBron, Kobe, Russ etc. is to get another player who also needs the ball in their hands to be effective. That does not normally work in the NBA unless you’re over-the-hill Steve Nash and Kobe reduces you to spot up corner jump shooter.
I don’t think the Lakers see hard capping as win or lose situation. I think they have a lot of pride in the choices they made and Rob will go down with his choice. Is that smart? Objectively, no. But we’re not the ones in the office, watching news reports, looking at whatever data and criteria they make decisions based on. In short, they are the ones in the worst position to be objective. If they were objective Frank would still have a job because little, if any, of last season was his doing.
However, I cannot advocate trading him at any cost. Nor can I support the idea that we should pay him not to play or anything absurd like that. Those ideas are non-starters for me because of how much cap space Russ occupies. just means you’re throwing away any real chance to field a competitive team.
So, based on all of that and because the tenor of the NBA trade market has changed in the last few seasons, I don’t see a lot of great options for the Lakers to pursue. Wall is a lateral, at best.
Hayward the same, if he can even stay on the floor. Jeannine would seemingly rather field a team that struggles to fit than pay millionaires to stay home and ice a leg or rehab on the family dime.
So, while I agree that the Russ fit is both awkward and unlikely to produce banner 18, I can easily see the Lakers in simply choosing to ride it out and hope for the best. I do think that if health were on our side more last season, we would have made the playoffs and this would all be looked at very differently.
If one is honest the chances we’ll bring back the kind of players we know would fit better are all but lost this summer. Nobody is going to trade anything but spare parts for Russ. Better to hope that Russ plays better and we either play at a higher level or he brings back something better around the deadline next season.
I don’t think Russ is as garbage a player that the internet and non-player media pundits seem to think. I think he’s cantankerous and a lot of personalities don’t like that because he treats them like he would an opponent: like an enemy. I like that about Russ. If Ham can unlock a better way for he and LeBron to coexist (and for Russ to make a few more layups) I think we’ll be better off than if we trade for the one-legged Gordon Hayward.
Great response, Jamie. Thanks. I understand where you’re coming from much better after the explanation.
Frankly, how we each approach the blog is the main reason why we often disagree or don’t share the same opinion.
I’m a salesman at heart. Can’t help it. I’m best when I believe in what I’m selling but I can still sell anything. Always been able to put together arguments for any position.
I approach the Lakers as if I owned them and want them to do what I would do. You assess what the Lakers are doing and figure out where you think that will take them. Bottom line, we’re both looking at the situation with different goals and methodologies.
Only thing we share is wanting our Lakers to come out on top. LOL.
Oh I know. It’s why the first thing you thought of after Caruso signed with Chicago wasn’t that we lost a player who fit perfectly with our superstars or his defense but the salary we could have traded 5 months down the line. It’s also why my opinions don’t change much with articles or click-bait. I’ve arrived at a 50/50 Russ stays or goes place this summer and frankly its looking like that might be generous tonyhe trade half. more like 60/40 he stays right now.
Anyhow, all fun here on the too opionTing website on Earth.
Let me know how you want it prepared, LT lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jen1thTH7f4
LOL. You can leave in in the marinade for now, Jamie.
You might not have the chickens to add to it a month from now.
Haha.
What a fiver!!! That’s all I can say. Nice post, Jamie.
Thanks !
Now that Equation Illustration I can understand!
Great, help me understand it dude! Lol
Now, as much as I like mathematics and Physics, I don’t think I am ready for that Equation Illustration unless the Lakers championship is on the line. You feel me?
ditto