In 2017 I shared a post with Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis in a Lakers jersey, trying to use some of Lavar Ball’s antics of speaking it into existence.
It was more of a wishful thinking than a real event I envisioned happening. It was the kind of thing Lakers fans did when we were in our dark ages.
Fast forward to July 28th 2021, that wish came through. Do I thank Lavar Ball for giving me that tactic?
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the process of trading Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd pick in the draft to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook, a 2024 second-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.
This move is an effort for the Lakers to solve an issue they’ve had, even in their title run of 2020, with generating offense that isn’t centered around LeBron James. For the Wizards, it’s a chance to reset some of the depth they have, and maybe build a more well-rounded team around Bradley Beal.
Let’s breakdown the trade further and give a grade for both sides.
Lakers find their third star
Remember when Russell Westbrook’s contract was untradable? Turns out he’s very tradable, because he keeps getting traded. After one year with the Washington Wizards in which he racked up triple-doubles and helped the Wizards get to the playoffs, he’s now going to be the third star for the Lakers.
He gets to go home to Los Angeles and see if he can assist LeBron James and Anthony Davis in getting the Lakers another ring. Just from a big-name surface look at this trade, grabbing Westbrook is certainly eye-popping.
But this move is more than a headline grab. Westbrook actually fills out very need the Lakers have been chasing since LeBron made this way to Los Angeles: an offensive duo threat that can score and create without the need of LeBron.
The Lakers have stunk on offense over the last couple years when LeBron James isn’t on the floor. Back in 2019-20, the Lakers scored 112.1 points per 100 possessions when James was on the floor. Take him of the floor and that offensive rating cratered to 105.2 points per 100 possessions. To put that in perspective, the offensive rating with James on the floor that year would have been good enough for seventh in the NBA. The offensive rating without James on the floor would have ranked them 29th in the league.
Last season? The Lakers grabbed Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell in the offseason to beef up the offense without James on the floor. It was supposed to give them plenty of opportunities to score without their biggest star. Instead, we got more of the same. The Lakers scored 112.4 points per 100 possessions with James and dropped to 105.8 per 100 possessions without LeBron playing. With James on the court, that’s the 14th best offense in the NBA. Without him, they would have ranked 27th in the league.
Schroder wasn’t enough consistently to carry the Lakers for large spurts. Think of Westbrook in that same role and you will marvel at what can be done.
When LeBron sits, it will turn into the Westbrook show. Those 8 mins LeBron is on the bench, the calendar will rewind to 2017 and Westbrook will go full force, likely filling the stat sheet ferociously.
Having the ability to mix and match three stars should keep the Lakers from seeing big drops with their offensive rating. And the Lakers have such a great defensive team identity, that Westbrook’s inconsistent defensive attention to detail shouldn’t hurt them too much.
The question is how this all fits together when they’re all three on the floor together.
Westbrook is arguably the worst 3-point shooter in NBA history considering volume taken. For players who have taken at least 2,000 attempts in their career, only Charles Barkley (26.6 percent) is worse than Russ (30.5 percent). And Westbrook has taken over 1,400 more attempts from deep, nearly doubling Barkley’s career volume.
LeBron already teeters on the edge of league-average with his outside jumper, and Davis has never been a consistent threat from deep. So does having potentially three non-shooters from distance on the floor benefit the Lakers?
Well the Lakers won a championship in 2020 with next to zero floor spacing. Rondo, Howard, McGee, a cold Kuzma and streaky Danny Green played significant playoff and Finals minutes around LeBron and AD.
There is no reason the big 3 can’t be surrounded by two marksmen, with AD running the 5 in tight games.
Westbrook is relentless in his attacks and he will move the ball, even if it’s in pursuit of history. LeBron and AD require to be doubled. Playing next to Davis, Westbrook, and James will get you open looks.
Westbrook’s fit with the Lakers is weird. Not necessarily bad; it’s just weird.
If it keeps LeBron fresh and the offense chugging along, we can see the Lakers find a way to get back to championship basketball. It’s mostly about health with them, and they’re going to hope this Big 3 is not only healthy in the future, but so athletically overwhelming that opponents are just left feeling over powered.
Wizards Receive cap relief and a future with Bradley Beal?
This move for the Washington Wizards is all about flexibility and not having to pay $40 million-plus to one guy over each of the next two seasons. In the 2020-21 campaign, the Wizards had a huge problem with depth for a few reasons. Injuries ravaged them. Health and safety protocols kept them from having real rotations for much of the season. And the Wizards had to eventually duct tape together enough lineups and games to fight for the postseason berth they ultimately earned. It was actually a very impressive display of figuring out how to make it through the season and be relatively successful, especially after trading for Westbrook to get some healthy star talent next to Bradley Beal.
But where do they go from here?
It all begins and ends with Beal. The Wizards are looking for the ability to put more pieces around Beal and hope to convince him to stay past this season, after which he can become a free agent.
Kyle Kuzma has been a bit of a running joke at times because of his fashion sense, Slim Shady hair dye choices and his own projection of what he can do on a basketball court. But he also has the skillset and potential to be a 18-20 point per game scorer in the right environment. It was clear Los Angeles was not that place.
Kuzma probably isn’t a 25-point per game scorer on a good team, which is something he hopes or expects to be. But he can still be a reliable third or fourth option on a bunch of teams. On the current Wizards, barring any massive moves, he will get the touches and consistency to show what he can do.
As for the rest of the trade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope proved to be a great role player for the Lakers over the years. He’s a reliable outside shooter and his defense on the perimeter is spectacular. For a Wizards team that has struggled to defend over the years, he’s going to be a great two-way player for them.
As for Montrezl Harrell, he has a chance to repair some of the image of him on the court. Two years ago, he appeared to be headed for a massive payday before he was exposed as a defensive liability in the playoffs. This can be an opportunity to revive his once promising career.
But like mentioned earlier, this trade was about doing whatever it takes to keep Beal around. They did right by Westbrook and I think that was important to Beal as well. But now with cap space and some young assets, the Wizards are set up for a future hopefully with Beal, but with the chance to have a future without him as well.
Grade
The Lakers traded a bunch of spare parts for a hall of fame player who solves 80% of their issues. That is a A- grade. Only thing holding it down is the pending team put around Russ-LeBron-AD.
For the Wizards they get a B+. Getting off Westbrook’s contract is a W for them but the package could’ve been better. Pending on Beal’s outlook on this move, the Wizards either hit a double or struck out.
