Monday, Sept. 26 was the start of training camp for the Los Angeles Lakers, and after months of speculation, Russell Westbrook was there in a purple and gold uniform.
The Lakers reportedly had multiple chances and opportunities to trade him, but nothing materialized.
One obstacle was reportedly the fact any team willing to take Westbrook off their hands was demanding the Lakers’ first-round draft pick in 2027 and 2029.
Those picks seem to represent part of Los Angeles’ future, especially since LeBron James and, presumably, Anthony Davis will be long gone by then.
General manager Rob Pelinka told the media on Monday those draft picks must bring back talent that will instantly make the Lakers a championship contender or at least get them much closer to that level. It is part of what he said is a commitment to LeBron James that mirrors the commitment he made to them by agreeing to a contract extension earlier this summer.
Pelinka says their “draft capital,” if included in a trade, must bring back talent that clearly improves L.A.’s championship chances https://t.co/e6XpMQG1Vz
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 26, 2022
The Lakers were rumored to be in discussions with the Indiana Pacers to acquire Buddy Hield and Myles Turner for such a package, as well as with the Utah Jazz for a package that would’ve included Bojan Bogdanovic.
It’s debatable whether either of those deals or any other deal out there that didn’t involve Kyrie Irving would’ve clearly improved the team’s chances of winning it all this season.
[mm-video type=video id=01gd1e4mnmhz3qz8n0t7 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f5k5xtr64thj7fw2 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gd1e4mnmhz3qz8n0t7/01gd1e4mnmhz3qz8n0t7-38c546a77fd4e142effefacfb34d107f.jpg]
[listicle id=85904]