Lakers Rumors: Russell Westbrook Less Likely to Be Traded amid Play as 6th Man
The Los Angeles Lakers seem very happy with Russell Westbrook's play off the bench.
So much so, in fact, that reports continue to emerge that the team won't deal the $47 million man in an effort to build a better roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The latest such report came from Sam Amick of The Athletic, who wrote on Thursday: "According to a source with knowledge of the Lakers' plans, Westbrook's play this past month has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline."
Westbrook, 34, has responded well to moving to the bench. In 14 November games he averaged 15.6 points and eight assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three.
That production has dipped somewhat in seven December games (13.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 7.9 RPG, 41.4 percent from the field, 15 percent from three), though it's still been an improvement from Westbrook's struggles last season.
The Lakers, in turn, have responded to a 2-10 start to the season by winning nine of the last 15 games. While they will likely spend much of the season trying to dig themselves out of the hole they created, the angst over Westbrook's fit into the team seems to have waned.
Still, Westbrook's massive contract and the fact that his ball-handling style of play and poor perimeter shooting doesn't mesh well with James means trading him would still be the most logical route toward building a better and more well-rounded roster around James and AD.
The Lakers, quite simply, need more shooting and better defense; Westbrook isn't going to provide either.
As The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported earlier in December, the Lakers have seen a Westbrook trade—which would likely include giving up draft compensation as well—as one potential avenue to fix their roster issues. The second would be to "trade some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks (one first-round and/or multiple second-round picks) for role players who better address needs and upgrade the rotation."
And the third route would be some combination of the aforementioned approaches.
Per Amick, the team's "dream scenario" is a star player on a struggling team becoming available via trade. For now, that hasn't materialized. And it sounds as though the Lakers are content, for the moment, letting things play out with Westbrook in the sixth man role.
