Things haven’t gone well for the Los Angeles Lakers to start the 2022-23 NBA season, as they have lost both of their first two games.
While fans continue to clamor for changes to be made to the roster, L.A.’s front office reportedly isn’t expected to revisit the trade market until 20 games into the season. That very well could end up being a little too late to salvage things.
In a very interesting twist, it seems like Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward recently liked a tweet that stated the Lakers should trade Russell Westbrook to the Hornets for Hayward, P.J. Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Gordon Hayward SICK of Charlotte. Get this man to the Lakers IMMEDIATELY!! pic.twitter.com/pZIETIghRT
— The Noble Savage (@ThatBlackPope) October 22, 2022
Naturally, people began to speculate about whether or not Hayward actually liked the tweet, and the original poster provided further proof to verify it.
— The Noble Savage (@ThatBlackPope) October 22, 2022
The Hornets were previously linked to Westbrook toward the end of the 2021-22 regular season, but nothing materialized between Charlotte and Los Angeles.
A deal involving the four aforementioned players would work. It would be interesting to see if the Hornets would demand any draft picks from the Lakers in order to take on Westbrook.
The hypothetical trade would address two of the Lakers’ biggest issues: 3-point shooting and wing depth. Hayward, Washington and Oubre, all of whom are shooting at least 33.3 percent from beyond the arc this season, are solid players that would help the Lakers space the floor for LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Charlotte seemingly expressed some interest in possibly trading away Oubre and Washington last offseason, so it’s certainly possible that it might be open to striking a deal with Los Angeles.
Trading for Hayward, Washington and Oubre would offer some needed changes to the Lakers, but it would also take away some of their cap space for the 2023 offseason. While Washington and Oubre are set to be free agents following this season, Hayward’s deal runs through the 2023-24 campaign.
It seems like trade rumors will continue to follow the Lakers all season long. As it is currently constructed, Los Angeles doesn’t seem to be a title contender. Other teams in the Western Conference are far better and deeper and don’t have as many off-court distractions.
The Lakers will look to get their first win of the season on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers, who have started 2-0 after making some nice offseason additions.
