The biggest question going into the offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers is the future of Russell Westbrook with the franchise. The Lakers gave up a lot in order to acquire Westbrook last offseason, but the union did not work out the way all sides hoped.
Now coming into this offseason, it sounds as if Westbrook’s days with the Lakers are numbered. There have been rumors floating around since the moment the season ended on potential Westbrook deals that will ship him out of L.A as the Lakers look to do what they believe is best for the franchise.
As far as what is best for Westbrook, even the man himself doesn’t know whether that is with the Lakers or not.
“No, I don’t. I haven’t thought that far into anything,” Westbrook said at his Lakers exit interview. “But I just always lean on … just continue doing the right thing.
“Like I always tell you guys, I lean big on my faith and with that I can never go wrong. I can always find, wherever if it’s here if it’s there, I’m kind of leave that out of it. My job is to make sure that I come to work, be professional, be a good person more than anything, continue doing that, and everything else that kind of plays out.”
One thing that continues to never be questioned is Westbrook’s passion for the game and how hard he plays. He was on the court basically every game for the Lakers, giving it his all, even though the results were often less than stellar.
If he was to return to the Lakers next season, he understands that changes will be made, especially depending on who the next coach will be.
“I mean, obviously, it’s gonna be a lot of different changes based on who the coach is and how our style of playing, and what we play like,” Westbrook added. “So that question is kind of up in the air. But once that decision is made, and we kind of go from there.”
A return to the Lakers is seeming more and more unlikely, however, and Westbrook may already be prepared to move on if social media is any indication. Westbrook removed anything Lakers-related from his Instagram page before eventually deleting all posts on the platform.
This could simply be a case of Westbrook needing a break and reset from social media, which many do. But from the looks of things, both sides could be on the same page in terms of a split being necessary.
Lakers will do ‘everything they can’ to keep draft picks amid Russell Westbrook trade rumors
One major issue for the Lakers trying to trade Westbrook is his massive $47 million contract which is difficult to move. With his declining play and such a high price tag, the Lakers could have to add in draft picks to move off him.
But the team is reportedly looking to avoid that scenario if they can. The latest reports suggest the Lakers will do everything possible to hold on to their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in any deal involving Westbrook.
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