Los Angeles Lakers May Have Way Out Of Russell Westbrook Fiasco After All

SportsMoney Los Angeles Lakers May Have Way Out Of Russell Westbrook Fiasco After All DJ Siddiqi Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover the NFL, NBA and pro wrestling at Forbes. New! Follow this author to improve your content experience.

Got it! Jun 26, 2022, 08:14pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Los Angeles Lakers could find themselves out of their Russell Westbrook fiasco via a trade with . . .

[+] the Charlotte Hornets. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Getty Images As we enter the free agency period of 2022, there’s one dominant storyline surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers — the potential acquisition of All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving is currently unhappy with his current situation with the Brooklyn Nets, as he desires a long-term contract with the organization. Irving holds a $36. 5 million player option with the Nets for next season, but could make a lot more money with a long-term deal with Brooklyn or by signing a contract with a new team via a sign-and-trade deal.

While that’s all fine and dandy, the Nets aren’t trading Irving for Russell Westbrook. According to ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst, Brooklyn is only willing to trade Irving to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. Via Lakers Daily : “The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly are potential suitors for Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, but the team isn’t expected to part with star Anthony Davis to acquire him.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revealed on his podcast that the Nets would only entertain a trade with the Lakers if Davis were involved. However, Windhorst also said he does ‘not see’ that happening for the Lakers this offseason. ” Let’s make one thing clear — trading Davis for Irving isn’t going to change anything.

While the Lakers will likely have Irving on the court for games than the injury-prone Davis, they’d still have Westbrook on the roster in this scenario. Having three ball-dominant players in LeBron James, Irving and Westbrook might just actually make things worse. MORE FOR YOU WWE Extreme Rules 2021 Results: Winners, News And Notes As Roman Reigns Beats The Demon The World’s Highest-Paid Soccer Players 2021: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Reclaims Top Spot From PSG’s Lionel Messi The Good, Bad And Ugly From The Green Bay Packers’ Win Over The San Francisco 49ers The only scenario in which the Lakers can’t escape this drudgery is by unloading Westbrook.

Considering the Nets aren’t willing to take on Westbrook and his $47. 0 million player option for the 2022-23 season, the Lakers may have a way out of the point guard’s contract after all. According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor , the Charlotte Hornets’ interest in Westbrook “is real.

” In a pre-draft column by O’Connor, the NBA analyst stresses how the Hornets have decisions to make regarding future contracts on young players such as Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball. With this in mind, Charlotte has to start shedding contracts of older veterans such as Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. “The Russell Westbrook interest that Marc Stein reported months back is real,” O’Connor explains.

“Though Westbrook makes little sense as a player next to Ball, he does have an expiring contract and the Hornets could be dropping the bag for restricted free agent Miles Bridges, plus LaMelo Ball’s extension is around the corner. It’s a good time to move some other long-term salary (e. g.

, Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier) for an expiring deal in Russ. ” Whether the Lakers run a squad led by James-Irving-Westbrook or James-Davis-Westbrook doesn’t really matter — it’ll still result in a losing season. The key is finding a way to move Westbrook’s expiring contract to a team looking to shed cap commitments and the Hornets just so happen to be one of those teams.

Although Charlotte is coming off of a solid 2021-22 campaign that saw them finish 43-39 and compete in the play-in tournament, the Hornets have never been a team that spends money under the ownership of Michael Jordan. After Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson backed out of his deal to become head coach of the Hornets , Charlotte settled on one of their former coaches, Steve Clifford. For the record, Clifford never led the Hornets out of the first round in five years as the franchise’s head coach.

In other words, despite having some nice franchise pieces in Ball and Bridges, Charlotte is not likely to contend for an NBA title anytime soon. With the 24-year-old Bridges expected to command a max contract — which would be more than $30 million per year — with Ball likely to follow after , the Hornets need to make some moves to avoid the luxury tax bill. That means players such as Hayward and Rozier become viable options for the Lakers in a Westbrook deal.

Hayward has two years remaining on his deal at a shade over $30 million per season in each of those years. Meanwhile, Rozier has three years left on his deal at $24 million per year on average with 2025-26 as a potentially guaranteed season. Hayward is obviously the most appealing option considering his ability to shoot and fit in as a third wheel alongside James and Davis.

He averaged 15. 9 points per game on 39. 1% shooting from beyond the arc last season.

If the Hornets can package Hayward and another short-term contract in a deal for Westbrook, the Lakers should absolutely agree to that trade. The Lakers made one of the worst decisions in NBA history when they acquired Westbrook. Not only is he a bad fit on the court, he’s shown little willingness to change his approach after a disastrous 2021-22 season.

The sooner the Lakers get rid of Westbrook, the better off they’ll be. Moving Westbrook for a solid spot-up shooter in Hayward may not lead to a title, but it’ll certainly make the Lakers a playoff contender again. Which is a drastic improvement over what they experienced this past season.

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