Russell Westbrook

A few days before training camp, the Lakers suddenly called off a proposed trade that would have sent Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round picks to Indiana for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

The repercussions of the decision not to pull the trigger on the Pacers’ trade could impact the present and future of the Los Angeles Lakers. Rather than decide, Pelinka and his front office team opted instead to do nothing.
Not only was that a poor decision but, unless immediately reversed, it undermines any chance the team has to be competitive this season and will force the Lakers to make major midseason changes to their roster.

Hanging onto Westbrook until midseason in hopes the Pacers will drop their price or a new superstar will hit the trade market is a strategy the cost of which rises after every loss while hopes for a championship disappear.
Every day spent with the current roster is a day the Lakers should spend integrating Turner and Hield. Wait first twenty games and the season is 1/5 over. On December 15, it’s 1/3 over. By February 9 deadline, it’s 2/3 over.

The Lakers’ failure to resolve the Russell Westbrook conundrum before the season has put Lakers’ rookie head coach Darvin Ham in a tough position as the roster he’s been given is not good enough to make the NBA playoffs.
The smart move is to rethink the situation and restart talks with the Pacers. The Lakers cannot afford to be patient and should under no circumstances wait longer than the first twenty games before trading Westbrook.

Specifically, here are five reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers need to trade Russell Westbrook and their 2027 and 2029 unprotected first round draft picks to the Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield as soon as possible.

1. Lakers Need Strong Start to Season Despite Tough Schedule

Getting off to a strong start is the single most important reason the Lakers need to trade Westbrook and their two first round picks now rather than waiting twenty games or more to see how they do and what comes up.

The simple reality is the Lakers will almost surely end up sacrificing this season if they persist with what appears to be their current plan of waiting to see how the team performs and what develops in the trade market.
Integrating two new starters like Myles Turner and Buddy Hield should be done before the start of the season, not halfway through the season when the team is fighting for playoff position and stability and continuity.

What we’re talking about here is the Lakers wasting twenty games or 1/5 of the season and the months October and November to see whether they can somehow win as currently constructed or if the trade winds might change.
Not making the trade before camp was a mistake but one easily rectified by reopening negotiations with Indiana. Every game the Pacers win hurts their chances of getting Wembanyama. Both teams need to move ASAP.

The Lakers front office should be encouraged by how LeBron James and Anthony Davis look but the Lakers need a legitimate stretch five starting center, a pair of wings to backup James and Davis, and more shooting.
Having Turner and Hield on the roster before the start of the season would make rookie head coach Darvin Ham’s job infinitely easier and the elevate the Lakers to legitimate contenders to win their 18th NBA Championship.

Not trading Westbrook before training camp was a big mistake but one that can be easily rectified by contacting the Pacers and closing a deal to trade Westbrook and the two picks for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield ASAP.

 2. Lakers Need Turner and Hield for Ham’s Systems to Work

No disrespect to Damian Jones or Thomas Bryant but, if the Lakers want to run Darvin Ham’s version of the Milwaukee Bucks’ offense and defense, they need to trade for the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield right now.

So far this preseason, the Lakers have lost all three games they have played, including two where their superstar big three started and played well. The good news is the Lakers’ starting lineup has posted a positive net rating.
The bad news is contribution from the center position has been the team’s weakest link as Damian Jones’ defense won the tentative starting role over Thomas Bryant, who is still struggling to return from his previous injury.

Rookie head coach Darvin Ham desperately needs the Lakers to make the Pacers’ trade as soon as possible. Ham has done a great job dealing with Westbrook and the team’s unfinished roster that lacks size and shooting.
Implementing entirely new offensive and defensive schemes is a job that needs to be done before the season rather than the middle of the year. The Lakers need to make rookie coach Darvin Ham’s job easier, not harder.

The spacing on offense from Ham’s new 4-out sets has already been a huge improvement over the spacing from Vogel’s 5-out sets from last season. James and Westbrook especially are seeing bigger lanes to the basket.
Darvin Ham needs the upgrade to the starting lineup in modern center that Myles Turner and elite volume 3-point specialist Buddy Hield can provide. There are no better fits for what the Lakers need than those two players.

The Lakers made a big mistake not pulling the trigger on the Westbrook to Indiana trade before the start of camp. If they want Darvin Ham to succeed as their head coach, the Lakers need to complete the Pacers trade ASAP.

3. Lakers Need Depth from Trade to Upgrade Quality of Rotation

While the Lakers starting lineup has posted a positive net rating so far, the Lakers’ three losses all came from the other team’s reserves dominating the second halves and demolishing the Lakers’ young backups and reserves.

Fortunately, trading Westbrook and two first round picks for Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and T.J. McConnell would enable the Lakers to upgrade their top five backups with the two players who used to start plus McConnell.
The Lakers could then start a lineup of Kendrick Nunn, Patrick Beverley, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Myles Turner backed by T.J. McConnell, Lonnie Walker, Austin Reaves, Jose Toscano-Anderson, and Damian Jones.

One thing that has apparently changed is the Lakers are not going to be pursuing Kyrie Irving either in trade or free agency, a decision that indicates the Lakers want to build around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Building a championship caliber roster with three max contract superstars has become almost impossible in today’s NBA. Making three superstars and a roster of minimum salary players work has not proven to be the answer.

The Lakers have no way of upgrading their roster other than trading Russell Westbrook. It’s not even a case of how Russ is playing, The Lakers simply need the three critical rotation players for whom they can trade him.
Fortunately, the addition of Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, and T.J. McConnell helps fill the size and shooting holes in the Lakers’ roster, allowing Los Angeles to dramatically improve the quality of their backups and reserves.

Swapping Westbrook for three rotation players including two starters who are prefect fits for what the Lakers need transforms the Lakers’ subpar starting lineup and shallow bench into a legitimate championship rotation.

 4. Lakers Need Tradeable Contracts to Make Moves Next Summer

The one option the Lakers are unlikely to take is keeping Westbrook all season and allowing his contract to expire. If L.A. did that, they would end up with $30 million in cap space, 3 draft picks, but no tradeable contracts.

Despite talk about pursuing Draymond Green, Myles Turner, or Andrew Wiggins in free agency, the Lakers keeping Westbrook and allowing his contract to expire would likely mean writing off the entire 2022–23 season.
That’s something that’s hard to imagine the Lakers doing, especially after LeBron James signed a two-year extension and Rob Pelinka promised to trade the two picks to transform the Lakers into a legitimate contender.

As heady as having as many as three draft picks to trade for a potential third superstar, the Lakers would find themselves unable to make a major move because their only tradeable contracts would be for LeBron and AD.
That’s why during the season the Lakers need to convert Westbrook’s expiring contract into two or three non-expiring contracts that can be aggregated with draft picks to pull off a blockbuster trade next summer.

One of the strategic mistakes the Lakers have been guilty of is favoring cap space over tradeable contracts. The Lakers have been reluctant to give out multi-year contracts as they have tried to create cap space for free agents.
The result is the Los Angeles Lakers have found themselves seriously handicapped by not having available tradeable contracts to take advantage when unique opportunities to dramatically improve the team come up.

The Lakers need to accelerate their efforts to trade Russell Westbrook and their two draft picks to the Pacers as the team must convert Russ’ $47 million expiring contract in season into to two or three smaller contracts.

5. Lakers Need Pacers’ Trade to Become Championship Contender

Trading Russell Westbrook and their two first round draft picks to the Pacers for Turner, Hield, and McConnell is probably the only realistic path the Los Angeles Lakers have to winning their 18th NBA championship.

It’s mazing watching the Los Angeles Lakers essentially become paralyzed with indecision to the extent that Rob Pelinka wanted every participant in the Lakers front office to agree to support the decision to trade with Pacers.
Expanding the Lakers’ brain trust to include Joey and Jesse Buss as well as Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka, and Kurt Rambis only makes it more difficult to reach a consensus. The lack of leadership by Pelinka is a serious defect.

We’ve seen the Lakers fumble the ball before as they bounce back and forth between wanting to create cap space and save draft picks, ultimately deciding not to decide or making a dumb move like trading for Westbrook.
There had been hopes that hiring Darvin Ham would give them a visionary around whom they could focus their future moves via draft and trade. Unfortunately, the decision not to do the Pacers’ trade must be reversed.

The Lakers not only have a unique opportunity to jump right into the race for an NBA championship this season but also to add three players in Turner, Hield, and McConnell who would be perfect additions to the team. Not only do the Lakers add three invaluable rotation players but they also give LeBron James and Anthony Davis the type of starters and rotation players who can legitimately compete for an NBA championship.

The Lakers have guaranteed commitment from LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the next two years. Adding Turner and Hield will give them a legitimate opportunity to win their 18th NBA championship this season.