Marketed for some time now by the Lakers, Russell Westbrook does not yet know his future. For a long time, a possible coming to the Nets was mentioned, in exchange for Kyrie Irving. However, the latest news from The Athletic does not go in this direction, far from it. We take stock.
In great difficulty with the Lakers, despite his desire to succeed, Russell Westbrook finds himself in a very complicated situation. If he enjoys his summer with calm, he does not yet know if he will have the opportunity to find LeBron James at the start of the school year. Training camp is a good month away now, but Rob Pelinka is ready to do whatever it takes to improve his roster, at the right price at least. This is where it gets stuck with the Nets.
Russell Westbrook at the Nets? Why won’t it happen
An exchange has been mentioned with Brooklyn, in order to send Kyrie Irving to the other side of the country, but this is a scenario that should never see the light of day. We do not know if the Nets and the Lakers will find an agreement, but The Athletic brings a very interesting data: Brodie does not please in the Big Apple. Either the leaders will cut it quickly, or we have to find a third team.
The Nets, our sources say, have no intention of getting Russell Westbrook’s contract back in this trade. That means the Lakers will need to add a third franchise, with the Pacers, Spurs, Jazz and Knicks as possible options. These teams will have to agree to recover Westbrook’s contract in such a deal.
A trade between the Nets and the Lakers? Obviously impossible. If Westbrook is part of such a trade, he will have to land somewhere else, but not stay there either. Indeed, and imagine that Russ ends up at the Jazz, they will have no interest in keeping him. He will be cut in stride, with the possibility of signing in the franchise of his choice, even if the market looks very weak.
But before thinking about this possibility, is it still necessary that Brooklyn and Los Angeles find an agreement on the rest of the counterpart, with Irving in the line of sight. Still according to the same source, it is impossible to imagine an exchange as it stands:
There are questions about draft picks. The Nets asked the Lakers to give up two first rounds. However, the Lakers do not want to respond favorably to this, since Rob Pelinka has only given a first round so far. That may change, at least if the deal is fair, like with Irving. But the Lakers won’t move, even if they do, until they have to. This is not the case to date.
We are playing the clock with the Lakers, who prefer to stall in this case, as one might think. There’s definitely a will to work out a deal with the Nets, but if that’s the case, it’ll probably be around training camp, and not before. A soap opera still far from over.