Report: LeBron James, Lakers 1st Prioritized Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal Trades

The Los Angeles Lakers may have landed Russell Westbrook this offseason, but he wasn't their first choice.

Bill Oram, Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported the Lakers initially wanted to target Bradley Beal or Damian Lillard to team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. When it became clear they weren't going to get either Beal or Lillard, the team shifted its focus to "more realistic" targets.

The idea that the Lakers could acquire either Beal or Lillard was beyond far-fetched. The team already jettisoned most of its young trade chips and future draft picks as part of the Anthony Davis trade. Almost nothing the Lakers could have offered would have been attractive enough to part with one of the game's best 15 players.

The Lakers settled on Westbrook for two reasons: He badly wanted to return home to Los Angeles, and he was attainable. Westbrook is playing for his fourth team in as many seasons. His contract, which will pay him $91.3 million over the next two seasons, is one of the worst in basketball in terms of salary-cap management despite Westbrook still being an effective player.

The Lakers were able to trade for Westbrook because his star had dimmed to the point he was functionally available. Neither Beal nor Lillard went anywhere this offseason despite mounting rumors they might ask for their respective exits. 

Whether the trade ultimately works out for the Lakers remains to be seen. There is an understandably large contingent who feel the team would have been better off taking an offer from the Sacramento Kings that would have landed them Buddy Hield, one of the NBA's best floor spacers, to pair with James and Davis.

The Lakers chose to go the splashier route, potentially at the expense of basketball fit. We'll see how it works out.