If the Los Angeles Lakers could only make one change to their roster this offseason, they’d probably aim to trade point guard Russell Westbrook away at a solid value.
While there have already been some rumors indicating that achieving that goal might be possible, a more recent report indicates something else.
According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, there are a number of scouts and executives across the NBA that do not see Westbrook as a useful player at this point in time.
“To other teams, Westbrook represented a one-year problem on the books as a way to erase long-term commitments to other players,” Woike reported. “Some scouts and executives around the league don’t view Westbrook as a useful player at this stage, especially with a nearly $50 million price tag.”
The Lakers acquired Westbrook last summer. At the time, some people were ready to call the Lakers a superteam with Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James leading the charge. What transpired from there was one of the most disappointing regular seasons for an NBA team in recent memory.
L.A.’s roster was never able to get on the same page, and Westbrook turned into a scapegoat for fans and members of the media fairly quickly.
While he did struggle throughout the season, particularly with shooting and avoiding turnovers, he still had a pretty productive year from a statistical standpoint. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game. Of course, stats only tell a part of the story, but it cannot be said that he was incapable of leaving marks on games.
Unfortunately, those marks were simply not positive enough of the time.
Now, the Lakers will presumably look to part ways with Westbrook this offseason. However, doing so might be easier said than done.
