Russell Westbrook

The Lakers must trade Russell Westbrook to the Rockets before tomorrow’s trade deadline or risk suffering a devastating season where fans are booing, players are quitting, and the storied franchise is inundated with dysfunction.

Last night’s embarrassing and humiliating loss to the champion Milwaukee Bucks was hopefully the last straw as the once proud Los Angeles Lakers were crushed by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kris Middleton, and a superior roster. LeBron James admitted in the post-game press conference the Lakers were not at the same level as the Bucks and sources confirmed the Lakers as a team no longer think they can win with Russell Westbrook as their third star.

Fortunately, it’s become obvious Russell Westbrook is a bad fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Lakers needed a third star whom they could rely upon to complement their two superstars with shooting and defense. The Lakers third star has turned out to be 24-year old Malik Monk, whom the Lakers signed to a 1-year veteran’s minimum contract but who has not become the third star they had hoped Russell Westbrook would become.

The big question, of course, is whether the Lakers will address the Russell Westbrook situation at the trade deadline or wait until summer to resolve it. Before last night’s game, the thought was the Lakers were likely to wait. Watching Los Angeles rally without Russ in the fourth quarter to turn a 30-point rout into a 10-point game, however, may have added pressure for Rob Pelinka to pull the plug on the Westbrook experiment now rather than wait.

So let’s look at some of the reasons why it makes sense for the Lakers to trade Russ now rather than waiting for this summer when his $47 million player option for next season will become a more attractive expiring contract.

1. Trading Russ now is only way Lakers win championship this season

The undeniable truth of this version of the Los Angeles Lakers has always been that they are legitimate championship contenders as long as they have a healthy and rested LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing at their peaks.

Unfortunately, every truth has its limit and the Lakers have now come to the conclusion that they cannot win a championship with Russell Westbrook as the third star. The question is when should the Lakers cut the cord with Russ? There’s a contingent in the Lakers’ front office that is willing to write off the rest of this season in the belief that they will be in a better position to resolve the Westbrook conundrum more favorably this summer than at the deadline.

Standing pat for the rest of this season should be a non-starter for anybody in the Lakers’ front office, not with 37-year old LeBron James championship window getting smaller each year and he and Anthony Davis playing great. Knowing they can’t win with Russ, the Lakers must then make the immediate moves to trade Russ to the Rockets, even if it costs them their 2027 first round

The only way the Lakers have a chance to win their 18th NBA championship this season is by ending the Russell Westbrook experiment right now and giving LeBron and AD a longshot opportunity to win another championship.

2. Not trading Russ now could ultimately lead to Lakers losing Monk

As we approach tomorrow’s trade deadline, the Lakers are in a tough situation with too many roster holes to fill and too few trading chips to fix everything. Trading Russ right now would put the Lakers in better position this summer.

The one blazing bright light in the darkness right now is the rise of Malik Monk, who’s been everything the Lakers had hoped for when trading for Russell Westbrook but from a 24-year old on a veteran’s minimum contract. Monk is immensely grateful for the Lakers signing him last summer when other teams had little interest and has not only fought his way into the starting lineup but also established himself as the team’s 3rd best player.

While Monk has become the third star the Lakers wanted, they don’t have his Bird or Early Bird rights and will be limited to offering him the $6.2 million taxpayer mid level exception this summer, which may be less than his value. There will likely be teams offering Monk the full non-taxpayer $10.1 million mid level exception. The Lakers will probably be able to keep Monk if they have a successful run the rest of the season and Monk may be willing to stay.

The worst outcome for the Lakers would be Westbrook staying and the Lakers continuing to be a losing team. The Lakers need to continue winning to ensure Malik Monk will wants to re-sign this summer rather than testing free agency.

3. Not trading Russ now could ultimately lead to LeBron leaving Lakers

The last thing the Lakers want is for LeBron James to ever consider leaving. Watching James’ body language last night, especially when Russ came over to console him and Anthony on the bench late in the game, was concerning.

If the Lakers stand pat at the trade deadline, they’ll have essentially wasted two of LeBron’s remaining few seasons without winning a championship. That could possibly mean that next season might be LeBron’s last as an L.A. Laker. Listening to LeBron say there was no way for the Lakers to get to the level of the current champion Milwaukee Bucks is not the kind of statements that give ownership any confidence LeBron is going to re-sign with the Los Angeles.

The Laker didn’t sign LeBron James nor did James sign with the Lakers just to win one championship. Nor is LeBron blameless as it was dinner at his house with Russ and Anthony that set the stage for the Lakers trading for Westbrook. LeBron and the Lakers expect James to finish his career in purple and gold, even if that means L.A. will ultimately have to draft Bronny James in the 2024 NBA draft. Keeping Russ could allow his dysfunction to derail the season.

The problem with keeping Russell Westbrook the rest of this season is the team is likely to continue to struggle to win, there’s going to be problems between Vogel and Westbrook, angry fans are going to boo and blame Russ. The truth is trading for Russ was a major mistake and the Lakers need to rectify the situation as soon as possible. They cannot afford for Westbrook, if kept for the rest of the season, to become a cancer that infects LeBron James.

The Lakers are at what could be a major franchise inflection point that could derail their relationship with LeBron and Klutch Sports at a point. Keeping Russell Westbrook for the rest of this season could be risking LeBron James.

The time may have come for the Los Angeles Lakers to rethink their decision to trade for Westbrook. Integrating Russ is not working as planned and the Lakers could be at a key crossroad in their quest to win the championship.

The Lakers may need to change or reduce Russell Westbrook’s role or even consider trading him in a last shot attempt to salvage what may be a second straight lost year in LeBron James’ rapidly fading championship window. Trading for Russell Westbrook in the first place was a bold and risky move designed to reduce the workload and extend the career of LeBron James. Pulling the plug would be tantamount to admitting the move was a mistake.

Per reports, the Lakers have already discussed the possibility of trading Russell Westbrook for Ben Simmons, a move orchestrated by and Rich Paul, who’s the player agent for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Ben Simmons. Right now, the Sixers have no interest in trading for Westbrook but that could change as we near the trade deadline and Philly GM Daryl Morey has to decide whether to trade Simmons now or wait until next summer.

The one sure thing is the Lakers need to figure out how to make Russell Westbrook work if they have any serious hopes of winning a championship. Here are five questions the Lakers must answer about Russell Westbrook:

1. Was the Decision to Trade for Russell Westbrook a Mistake?

The Lakers’ Westbrook problem has been they have not had a chance to see Russ playing alongside fellow superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis or alongside projected starting role players due to injuries and Covid.

The result of James’ and Davis’ injuries has been Russell Westbrook spending only 291 minutes alongside LeBron and AD out of 2,056 minutes available this season, which forced Russ to be the second rather than third option. There’s a difference between how many minutes and touches Russ would get as third option versus being forced to function as the Lakers’ second option. It’s hard to predict what will happen when AD and Nunn are healthy.

That puts the Lakers in the unenviable position of not knowing whether they can make the Westbrook experiment work as the February 10 trade deadline approaches and time to make changes get shorter and shorter. With Anthony Davis out at least for the rest of this month, the Lakers know going small is their only option and they’re going to continue to struggle to hold their own on the glass and in the paint until they make a trade.

The best the Lakers can say right now is they need a midseason trade to get more size to transform their microball lineups to the small-ball-on-steroids lineups like in the bubble for the Russell Westbrook experiment to work.

2. Can the Lakers Change or Reduce Russell Westbrook’s Role?

The word around the league was don’t expect Russell Westbrook to change how he plays but the Lakers have already seen that Russ is willing to change and adapt his style of play to help the Lakers win an NBA championship.

What’s been obvious is Russell Westbrook loves being home in LA where he can spend time with his family. What’s also been obvious is he knows he’s going to have to change how he plays if he wants to be successful on Lakers. The Lakers may not be the last chance saloon for Russell Westbrook the way it was for Dwight Howard but, after being on four different teams the last four years, Russ realizes Los Angeles is where he wants and needs to be.

So what changes does Russ need to do for this experiment to work for the Lakers? First and foremost, Russ does need to improve his ball security, shot selection and defensive attention, and adjust to being just the third option. That means deferring to LeBron James or Anthony Davis or Malik Monk or Austin Reaves or Lakers players who are better 3-point shooters than he is. It means understanding and embracing your role as the third superstar.

Russell Westbrook is clearly ready and willing to adjust to his role as the Lakers’ third superstar. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis won’t be back until February so the Lakers will need Russ to carry more of a load until then.

3. Can the Lakers Get Better By Trading Russell Westbrook?

While the Lakers believe they can make the Westbrook experiment work, there are enough questions to require Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front office to do their due diligence on the option of trading away Russ.

Because of the history and close relationship between the Los Angeles Lakers and Klutch Sports, a Russell Westbrook for Ben Simmons trade has to remain a possibility despite Daryl Morey saying he’s not interested in Russ. The 3 years and over $100 million left on Ben Simmons’ contract has not helped his trade value as teams are wary of his mental state. Chances are Russell Westbrook could easily be the Sixers’ best offer for Ben Simmons.

But there are teams who could be interested in Russell Westbrook as a way of selling tickets and creating interest. Teams like the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks immediately come to mind. Now that the Lakers have paid half of Westbrook’s $44 million salary for this year, there may be teams interested in trading players with longer contracts for him in order to get his $47 million expiring contract to create cap space.

While the Lakers aren’t going to be actively looking for Russell Westbrook trades, they’re going to look at every option to improve their roster, even if it means sweetening a Russ trade with THT, Nunn, and even Monk or Reaves.

4. Could the Lakers and Russell Westbrook Modify His Contract?

While the Lakers will have a better chance to trade Russell Westbrook this summer due to his $47 million expiring contract, there’s a path for Russ and the Lakers to modify his contract to give the Lakers more breathing room.

The Lakers need to find a way to re-sign Malik Monk, whom they signed as a free agent to a minimum veteran contract, but who will due for a raise at least to the Non-Taxpayer Midlevel Exception of around $10 million per year. Enter an agreement between Westbrook and the Lakers where he opts out of the last year and $47 million on his contract and signs a new four year deal for $100 million, saving the Lakers $22 million in salary next season.

That would enable the Lakers to re-sign Monk for the $10 million NT MLE, rebuild the roster while staying under the $140 million hard cap that using the NT MLE to sign Monk would require and avoid paying any luxury taxes. Alternatively the Lakers other option is to allow Russ’ $47 million expiring salary to create cap space so they can sign a third superstar. At end of 2023, Anthony Davis’ $40.6 million is projected to be the Lakers’ only salary.

Should the Westbrook experiment work the Lakers will have multiple options. The can negotiate a new contract for more money to replace next season’s $47 option. Or they can re-sign or replace him in free agency.

5. What Are the Lakers’ Best Options for Russell Westbrook?

The Lakers have spent half the season already trying to figure out how to make the Russell Westbrook experiment work. It’s unlikely they’re going to pull the plug and throw their roster into more chaos. They want stability.

Unless the Lakers decide they cannot achieve that stability with Russell Westbrook as point guard, they’re going to continue to try and make Russ work. They’ll do everything they can to upgrade the starting lineup. Ultimately, the Lakers’ season will come down to whether LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy and playing at their best come the playoffs. The Lakers just need Russ to be a major facilitator to unleash LeBron and AD.

The Lakers understand they need another elite starter in the form of a 3&D big, either a stretch five like Myles Turner or stretch four like Jerami Grant to make their small ball lineups as effective as in their bubble championship. They firmly believe in the goal of trading for Russell Westbrook to reduce the workload and physical toll and extend the career of LeBron James. The Lakers will make a trade because they can’t waste a year of Lebron.

The Lakers are going to double down on the superstar big three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. This is a win-now season for a win-now team. Lakers top priority is upgrading role player size and defense.