Lakers Must Go All-In on Russell Westbrook Amid Latest Trade Rumors

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to navigate the 2022 preseason largely without their superstars, one of L.A.'s most notable players continues to be the subject of trade buzz.

The Russell Westbrook experiment was a failure last season. The nine-time All-Star never played particularly well, and the Lakers stumbled to a 33-win campaign. Westbrook did not seem to be a good fit with the roster or as part of a Big Three—though, to be fair, Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were rarely all healthy at the same time.

Westbrook is also due a $47 million salary, so the idea that L.A. would try to unload his contract or flip him for more fitting role players made perfect sense. And it appears that the Lakers' brass put a lot of thought into doing just that.

According to Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers came close to making a deal just before the start of the season:

"Vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, owner Jeanie Buss and senior basketball adviser Kurt Rambis seriously considered sending Westbrook and unprotected first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 to the Pacers for center Myles Turner and guard Buddy Hield, sources said. They held a series of meetings in the days leading up to camp to analyze the possible Pacers deal from every angle"

Ultimately, no deal with Indiana was struck, in part because L.A. wants to maximize the value of its future first-rounders and isn't willing to flip them just yet. Another reason why Westbrook is on the roster is that the Lakers still believe they can make it work with him.

And the experiment can still work. Maybe. Westbrook is still an up-tempo offensive force who can act as a rotating third star next to James and Davis. The question is whether the three can stay healthy and whether Westbrook will do everything that is required of him by new head coach Darvin Ham.

Westbrook clashed with former head coach Frank Vogel, which blatantly affected his own performance and the team's chemistry. Their player-coach relationship was not good from the beginning.

"I think it's unfortunate, to be honest, because I've never had an issue with any of my coaches before," Westbrook told reporters in April. "I'm not sure what his issue was with me or I'm not sure why, but I can't really give you an answer to why we really never connected."

However, Westbrook appears—at least publicly—to be much more willing to accept Ham's direction heading into the 2022-23 season.

"Just been able to communicate, whatever he needs me to do. I'mma go out there and try to do it to the best of my abilities," Westbrook told Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell. "And if I need something from him, I’m able to communicate that as well."

With a better relationship established, Ham has an opportunity to get more out of Westbrook than Vogel ever did, and that includes playing defense.

"He’s told me personally he’s going to commit to that side of the ball," Ham said, per NBA.com's Mark Medina.

It also appears that the locker room—or at least, team leader James—is willing to give Westbrook another chance, despite last season's struggles and all of the offseason trade drama.

"James has shown support publicly and privately to integrating Westbrook and playing with the former league MVP again this season," Charania, Amick and Buha wrote.

But if the Lakers hope to get a full commitment from Westbrook—to the team, to the other players and to Ham's coaching vision—the organization needs to show some commitment to him.

Everyone knows that if things don't work out this season, Westbrook will either be traded before the deadline or let go in 2023 free agency. It's important that he feels like a valued member of the organization and not just a placeholder. Otherwise, Westbrook will have little motivation not to simply collect his payday and go through the motions.

For Ham, this means crafting a role and building a scheme that complements Westbrook's skill set—not trying to force a proverbial square peg into a round hole, as seemed to be Vogel's strategy.

For the front office, this means committing to Westbrook publicly. Someone needs to come out and say, flat-out, that Westbrook is unavailable for trade. This wouldn't preclude L.A. from eventually making a deal if the right one arises—teams often say one thing and do another when it comes to trades. However, firmly squashing the trade speculation now would benefit everyone involved.

L.A. is going into the regular season with Westbrook on its roster. It's time for the Lakers to go all-in with him, too. The cloud of a potential trade is a distraction this team cannot afford if it hopes to find its rhythm and emerge as a surprise title contender.