On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a blockbuster trade by agreeing to acquire Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.
However, not everyone in the organization was on board with the move.
"This could be the end of the Alex Caruso era in Los Angeles."@sportsreiter says the Russell Westbrook addition likely means the departure of Alex Caruso. pic.twitter.com/yBTvKPEsZq
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) July 30, 2021
“There was a strong level of disagreement within that Lakers organization about whether or not Russell Westbrook was ultimately the person that they needed to pursue with the picks and the players, including Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma, that now head to Washington,” said Bill Reiter of CBS Sports. “Communicating with one Lakers source who is not excited about the Westbrook trade, he said in the end that the star power and the belief by Rob Pelinka, the general manager in L.A., that Westbrook and his ability, his track record of excellence, is going to be what the Lakers need, even though it’s an interesting pairing.”
There is no doubt that the multitude of things that Westbrook excels at is going to be a huge boon for a team that followed up an NBA championship with a first-round playoff exit.
On the other hand, he isn’t the best 3-point shooter and not nearly as effective off the ball.
Still, with LeBron James about five months away from his 37th birthday, the Lakers needed someone to take the load off him, especially during the regular season. Westbrook can do that and then some.
Another concern over the last couple of years has been the sizable drop-off offensively when James is on the bench. Westbrook can greatly shore up that deficiency.
One can reasonably expect Pelinka to address the team’s lack of outside shooting before the roster is finalized for next season. Los Angeles could still presumably use point guard Dennis Schroder in a sign-and-trade deal to acquire another piece.
