Report: Lakers Talking Russell Westbrook, D'Angelo Russell Trade with T-Wolves, Jazz
Russell Westbrook's time with the Los Angeles Lakers may be coming to an end, and a familiar face may be back on his way to the Purple and Gold.
Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz "are in discussions on a three-team deal" that would see Westbrook and draft compensation end up in Utah, Mike Conley Jr. go to the Timberwolves and D'Angelo Russell sent to Los Angeles.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski provided more context:
Wojnarowski reported Wednesday night that the trade talks are in "a fairly advanced stage":
If the trade is completed, it doesn't seem like Westbrook will be suiting up for the Jazz to help their playoff push. Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report reported the "likely path" in such a scenario would be a buyout for the nine-time All-Star.
While Westbrook is a future Hall of Famer with a resume that includes a league MVP, two scoring titles, three assist titles and a spot on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, he's been an awkward fit on the Lakers. He is a ball-dominant playmaker, but he can't fully lean into that with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the floor.
As a career 30.4 percent three-point shooter, he also can't capitalize on the spacing James and Davis create. There have been trade rumors involving the UCLA product since before the season started. This is just the latest one.
If the Lakers do get Russell back, they'll have come full circle since they originally selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft. He played his first two seasons in L.A. before the Lakers traded him to the Brooklyn Nets. He has since played for the Golden State Warriors and Timberwolves as well.
While Russell hasn't quite lived up to the expectations that come with his draft position and has yet to find his way on a serious contender, there are some things to like about his game. The Ohio State product is hitting 39.1 percent of his three-pointers this season while averaging 17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game. His shooting alone would be a breath of fresh air for a Los Angeles squad that is 26th in the league in three-point percentage at 33.8.
The Timberwolves would get a pass-first veteran in Conley who could put Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards in better positions to score and have no trouble defaulting to them when it comes to finding shots in crunch time.
That may be a better fit than Russell was, and Conley has plenty of postseason experience from his time on the Memphis Grizzlies and Jazz. Minnesota is in ninth place in the Western Conference standings but sits only three games back of the No. 3 seed.
A late push up the standings isn't out of the question, and Conley could provide some mentorship for a young team looking to make a run.
