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Draymond Green

Waiting to Trade Russ Guarantees a Slow Start to the Lakers’ Season

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By now the Lakers have to know the team as currently constructed is not capable of winning many games and the longer they wait to trade Russell Westbrook, the deeper the hole out of which they’ll have to dig their way.

The league-worst 1–5 preseason record and the humiliating 47-point loss to the Sacramento Kings showcased everything wrong with the current roster and why the Lakers need to trade Russell Westbrook as soon as possible. Waiting could quickly kill any chance Lakers have of making the playoffs. Without a trade, the current Lakers team could easily be 5–15 by November 30, 7–20 by December 15, and 11–32 by the February 9th trade deadline.

Those are devastating starts that would likely doom LeBron James and the Lakers to missing the playoffs for a second straight season no matter for whom they were eventually able to trade Russell Westbrook and their picks. Trying to recover from a terrible start is exactly the kind of pressure the Lakers do not need to pile on rookie head coach Darvin Ham’s shoulders. The Lakers need to realize time is their enemy and not friend right now.

The Lakers must trade Westbrook as soon as possible or risk getting off to a slow start from which they won’t have time to recover. Time to make major changes in personnel is right now, while there’s still time changes to work.

The Big Question Is What Do the Lakers Really Want To Do?

The good news is the Lakers are apparently now ready to resume the Russ trade negotiations put on hold during training camp. Now that camp’s over, the Lakers will restart their pursuit of an acceptable Westbrook trade.

Training camp gave the Lakers the opportunity to evaluate their current roster and see if rookie head coach Darvin Ham could figure out how to make Russell Westbrook work with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Unfortunately, what training camp revealed is an unbalanced Lakers roster with too many guards and not enough wings that desperately needs size and shooting that can only be acquired by trading Russell Westbrook.

Besides confirming the team as currently constructed can’t win enough games to make the playoffs, the Lakers could also not help but seeing that Turner and Hield would go a long way towards solving the roster woes.
The Lakers desperately need a legitimate starting stretch five center like Myles Turner to keep Davis at the four and James at the five and a proven starting volume 3-point shooter like Buddy Hield to create floor spacing.

There should be no question in the minds of the Lakers front office brain trust that the Lakers need to trade Russell Westbrook and their two first round draft picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield as soon as possible.

What Are the Lakers’ Other Russell Westbrook Options?

While it’s hard to imagine a Westbrook trade that’s a better fit for what they need than Turner and Hield, the Lakers do have other options, including letting Russ’ contract expire or trading him for just one first round pick.

In a perfect world, the Lakers would wait and see what opportunities arise before trading Westbrook. Even if a better trade didn’t appear, the Lakers would have over $35 million in cap space if they let Russ’ contract expire. They could, for example, use that cap space to sign Draymond Green, who is clearly leaving the Warriors next summer and whose elite defense, playmaking, and leadership would be great fits next to LeBron and AD.

The other option the Lakers could choose would be to pursue a Westbrook trade that would only cost one first round draft pick, the idea being to be able to offer two first round picks in a blockbuster trade next summer.
There are packages of players from teams like the Spurs or Hornets the Lakers could acquire that would only cost them one first round draft pick. The problem is none of those trades will make L.A. a legit competitor.

While the Lakers do have other options, there is no solution that is a better fit for what the Lakers need than trading Russell Westbrook and two draft picks to the Indiana Pacers for center Myles Turner and guard Buddy Hield.

Lakers vs. Warriors Play-In Prediction: Lakers Need To Be Ready to Play Small

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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has to be smiling at the serendipity of the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors meeting Wednesday night in the Play-In Tournament Game between the West’s 7th and 8th place teams.

No better appetizer than LeBron James vs. Steph Curry to get NBA fans excited and hungry for the playoffs after a second straight Covid ravaged season with limited live fans in the stands and declining television ratings. The winner earns the #7 seed and plays the #2 seed Suns in a first round playoff series while the loser has to play the winner of the 9th vs. 10th place game to earn the 8th seed and play the #1 Jazz in a first round series.

LeBron James and Steph Curry already have a storied history, playing each other 38 times, including 16 regular season games and 22 playoff games, with Curry winning 9 of 16 regular season and 15 of 22 playoff games. The threat of Steph and Warriors upsetting LeBron and the defending champion Lakers and sending them into an elimination game vs. the winner of the Grizzlies vs. the Spurs has purple and gold haters salivating.

Watching Steph go off late with three dagger threes to clinch Sunday’s win over the Grizzlies has NBA fans and pundits eagerly awaiting Wednesday night’s matchup between LeBron’s Lakers and Steph’s Warriors for 7th seed.

While the Lakers opened up as 7-point favorites, the line has now dropped to 4.5 points as gamblers expect Golden State to go all-in with their small ball ‘Death Lineup’ with Draymond at center that won three championships.

The Lakers and Warriors met three times this season with Steph Curry catching fire late in the first game to pull off a 2-point Golden State upset but LA dominating the last two games with 26 and 31-point blowouts. With rookie center James Wiseman injured, the Warriors have gone small with Draymond Green at center and won 17 of the 25 games Steph Curry has played since their last game against the Lakers back on March 15.

Make no mistake, Steph Curry has taken his game to new heights since the three games against the Lakers, averaging 36.1 points per game compared to 29.3 points before March 15 to win the second NBA scoring title of his career. The Warriors will likely start Draymond Green at center against the Lakers like they did in their big win over the Grizzlies to clinch 8th place in the West, which puts pressure on Frank Vogel to go small with AD at the five.

With Drummond finally getting a chance and showing he can play with James and Davis, Vogel faces his first major matchup decision of this year’s playoffs: go big with Drummond at center or small with Davis at the five.

Unlike as 7-game series, the Play-In game doesn’t leave any room for error. There’s no question the Lakers as a team are best with Anthony Davis at the five but they have been hesitant to go that route during the regular season.

Last year, AD played the five 25% of the time during the regular season and 40% of the time in the playoffs. This season, he has only played center less than 10% of the time as they have preferred to play him at power forward. The big question for Wednesday night’s game is whether Vogel will stay big and start Andre Drummond at center or counter Steve Kerr’s move to start Draymond Green at the five by starting Anthony Davis at the five.

Realistically, the Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be able to dominate the boards and paint and beat the Warriors if they go big with Andre Drummond at center or small with Anthony Davis at center. Considering Drummond’s recent success with LeBron and AD, Vogel’s likely to stick with his starting lineup of Drummond at the five and Davis at the four and look to dominate the Warriors with their size and athleticism.

The danger is Drummond not being able to make the smart adjustments on offense and defense playing against a savant veteran like Draymond Green. If Drummond struggles, look for Vogel to make a quick change to go small.

Frank Vogel’s personnel moves in last year’s playoffs were close to perfect as he dramatically increased the minutes superstar Anthony Davis played center from 25% during the regular season to over 40% during the playoffs.

Wednesday night’s Play-In game against the Warriors should give us a critical first hint of how Vogel is going to manage his center minutes in these playoffs. Will he rely on Drummond at the five or revert back to Davis? Along with the heath of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, how Drummond plays and what Vogel decides to do with his center minutes will likely determine whether Lakers can realistically repeat as champions.

There’s no question the Los Angeles Lakers face an unprecedented gauntlet to win their 18th NBA championship. Unlike any other champion in NBA history, the Lakers will have to win 17 games rather than 16 to do it.