Prior to the NBA trade deadline last month, the Los Angeles Lakers were trying to find a way to trade Russell Westbrook while getting some kind of reasonable value in return.
Reportedly, it wasn’t just LeBron James and his camp that wanted such a deal done, but it was also the team’s coaching staff that desired a Westbrook trade.
Via The Athletic:
“Sources say the coaching staff made an unsuccessful push for Westbrook to be traded before the Feb. 10 deadline, when the Lakers passed on Houston’s John Wall, in part, because of the draft considerations that it would have required to make the deal,” wrote Sam Amick and Bill Oram. “There were also significant concerns about the fact that Wall hadn’t played all season and, thus, didn’t instill confidence in his ability to help the Lakers turn their season around.”
James and his agency, Klutch Sports, was unhappy Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka didn’t pull the trigger on the proposed Westbrook-Wall trade. That may seem strange to some people since James was the major impetus behind the team acquiring Westbrook in the first place.
Another trade reportedly discussed prior to the deadline would’ve sent Westbrook to the Sacramento Kings for sharpshooter Buddy Hield. If that deal happened, it would’ve been ironic, since the Lakers turned down a Hield trade last summer in favor of acquiring Westbrook.
Head coach Frank Vogel hasn’t had an easy time integrating Westbrook into his lineup, partly due to injuries.
While the coach has publicly shown support for the triple-double maestro, he has benched him in crunch time a few times this season, and he has admitted he has had internal discussions about demoting Westbrook to the bench.
Last week, a Blacher Report article stated Westbrook and the front office had agreed to try to find him a new team this offseason, something that may surely give Vogel some solace if he remains with the Lakers, which seems unlikely.
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