News Flash: Lakers Can Lose to Lousy Teams Without Russell Westbrook in the Lineup!
The NBA's 2022 ironman, Russell Westbrook--who led the league in minutes played while not missing a single game heading into Wednesday night's action--did not play in the L.A. Lakers' game versus the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers announced that Westbrook is dealing with a back problem, which may at least partially explain Westbrook's recent struggles; he never complains about injuries, nor does he make excuses, so we will probably never know for sure.
Based on the commentary that intelligent basketball fans have suffered through during this season, one might expect that the Lakers--without Westbrook and facing a lousy Portland team sans the injured Damian Lillard and the recently-traded C.J. McCollum--would win by 20 or 30 points. In the immortal words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!" LeBron James is now 30 points closer to setting the all-time career scoring record but he also had a team-worst -5 plus/minus number as the Lakers lost 107-105. After the Lakers' previous loss, James flatly declared that the Lakers are not at the same level as the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks and are not capable of reaching that level as currently constructed. That is an interesting indictment of the roster built by the Lakers' de facto general manager: LeBron James.
Rumors are swirling that the Lakers feel like they have to trade Westbrook to salvage their season, to which I respond: Please, please, please trade Westbrook! The Lakers have misused Westbrook all season. He has led the league in assists three times and he averaged a triple double in four of the past five seasons, but the Lakers insist on having James monopolize the ball while Westbrook stays out of the way of James' pursuit of the all-time scoring record. We hear so much about James' ability to play all five positions, and his willingness to do whatever it takes for his teammates to shine and his team to win. Here's a novel thought: maybe the 6-9, 250 pound James should play power forward, the 7-0 Anthony Davis should play center, and Westbrook--the all-time triple double leader--should be the primary ballhandler. Are we supposed to believe that Westbrook--who just last season carried the Washington Wheeze-hards (I mean, Wizards) to the playoffs with Bradley Beal and not much else--cannot successfully choreograph an offense with two top 75 big men controlling the paint and running the floor? Westbrook is not the problem. One problem is that Davis has spent the whole season either tripping over himself and getting hurt, or else wandering around in a stupor, while James is conserving his energy on defense so that he can get his 25+ points every night. Another problem is that even though James' formidable skills have not declined much, his body clearly has; James has missed more games in his less than four seasons as a Laker than he missed in his first 15 seasons, and he clearly understands that he is in a race against time to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list before his body gives out. James' NBA level talent may last into his 40s, but his body's ability to stay healthy--and to recover from game to game--is in obvious and rapid decline.
I have the perfect trade for the Lakers: send Westbrook to Brooklyn for James Harden. James, Davis, and Harden are the "I don't want to be here" All-Stars, so throw them on the same team together and make them figure it out. James has spent his career seeking greener pastures and stacked teams, Davis forced his way out of New Orleans, and Harden has not been in shape since he unofficially went on strike when he forced his way out of Houston. If James does not appreciate playing alongside Westbrook--who plays hard, never makes excuses, and never throws his teammates under the bus--then let him have the James Harden Experience of bricked three pointers, defensive indifference, endless excuses, and relentless shade thrown toward teammates.
Westbrook would actually fit in well with Brooklyn, a team that needs a player who can push the pace and distribute the ball. Westbrook has a history of helping All-Star teammates play better than ever, and he has proven that he does not mind accepting a secondary scoring role.
The big rumor making the rounds is that the 76ers--whose president of basketball operations Daryl Morey loves Harden so much that he said with a straight face that Harden is a better offensive player than Michael Jordan--will trade conscientious objector Ben Simmons for James "My aching hamstring" Harden. By the way, all of the "insider reports" are hilarious. If you have absolutely no NBA connections whatsoever, how hard is it to figure out that (1) the 76ers would be better off trading Simmons than getting nothing of value for him as he sits out the season, (2) the Nets would like to get rid of malcontent Harden, and (3) Morey would move heaven and earth to acquire the player he considers to be the 21st century Michael Jordan? Yet, even though all of this is obvious, there are people who get paid a ton of money to provide "insider reports" that tell us things that are patently obvious. I don't know if the Harden-Simmons deal is going to happen or not, which means that I have at least one thing in common with the "insiders" (I hope that is the only thing that I have in common with them)--but I do know that both teams would like to make that deal on terms that they consider favorable.
Harden loved playing in Houston with a slightly past his prime Dwight Howard taking up space in the paint, so he will be thrilled sharing paint space and shot attempts with Joel Embiid. Embiid is the far superior player, but if he teams up with Harden he better get used to Harden jacking up shots from all angles.
No one knows where Simmons is mentally or physically. If he is even close to being mentally and physically ready to play, he could help the Nets as a playmaker, rebounder, and defender. The Nets have enough players who want and need to shoot the ball that they will not be overly perturbed by Simmons' reluctance to shoot.
A Westbrook for Harden trade is my unrealistic dream, but I will settle for watching Harden's bricks make sure that the 76ers never win a title as a reward for all of their tanking.
In all seriousness, I hope that the Lakers trade Westbrook. James and Davis are not committed to winning a title this season, but they are committed to letting Westbrook take the rap for the Lakers' underachieving season. The Lakers are fully capable of imploding without Westbrook, and that implosion will be difficult to blame on Westbrook if he finishes the season with a different team (particularly if that team uses Westbrook correctly and goes on a run down the stretch).
Labels: Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets, James Harden, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Philadelphia 76ers, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 1:29 AM
9 Comments:
Hi David,
Well summarized. The Nets would indeed be a nice landing spot for Westbrook if possible. It would be interesting to see Durant and Russ reunite after the media made such a fuss over the circumstances of Durant's departure in 2016. The main issue with a potential future Nets reunion would seem to be the same one that plagued their years together in OKC: can both of those players stay healthy at the same time?
I would especially be excited to see Westbrook reach the Bucks, where he could form a nice tandem with the equally hardworking, no excuses Giannis. That would likely require either a buyout of his contract or have to wait until free agency next year, so I am not so sure it will happen.
As for the Lakers, I think my earlier suspicions have been confirmed and this team basically peaked in the NBA Bubble in 2020. NBA champions to first round exit and now likely not even making the playoffs. Quite similar to how that 2006 Miami Heat team won the championship and then was out the door just two seasons later.
Keith:
Thank you.
Yes, at this stage of their careers health would be the biggest issue for Durant--who already has had two major injuries that caused him to miss significant time--and Westbrook, who has been healthier than Durant overall but has had several knee surgeries.
It would be great to see Antetokounmpo and Westbrook on the same team, but Milwaukee has no reason to make any moves at this time.
I agree that the LeBron Lakers peaked in the fluky bubble. I had assumed that since LeBron brought Westbrook to L.A. he would be willing to change his playing style to maximize Westbrook's impact but perhaps I should have known better: it is always LeBron's All-Star teammates, not LeBron, who are forced to change.
Marcel
The lakers should of kept the team from last 2 years
There was no need to change the roster if ad and bron didnt get hurt last year they had a good chance
Ultimately this why u dont listen to a player and gm are supposed to do they job
Bringing russ bradley dj ellington etc was a disaster rob pelinka has to take blame
Russ Westbrook been bad this year
He a player who never takes accountability when he plays bad and never improved his shooting or found a way to fit his game into helping a team win.
Kd rather retire than play with russ again
He left russ for warriors for a reason
He couldnt win with a past prime russ
He def not winning with current well past prime russ
It is what it is lakers are bad
Marcel:
The Lakers won a "Bubble" title and then could not stay healthy. LeBron is always most comfortable when he surrounds himself with stars, so it is not surprising that he pushed for the Westbrook trade. What is at least mildly surprising is LeBron's refusal to adjust his game in a way that maximizes what Westbrook does well.
I am sure that Pelinka will receive the blame, but we all know who made the decisions. Pat Riley is the only front office executive who refused to let LeBron walk all over him.
When you say something new about Westbrook or provide even one piece of evidence to support your unsubstantiated assertions then we can have a dialogue; just repeating false statements with no evidence does not move the needle for me. I have already demonstrated how much Westbrook has added to his game during his career (score-first player who evolved into three-time assist leader/all-time triple double champion), how he takes responsibility for his play while refusing to throw his teammates under the bus, and how many All-Stars who have played with him have had career seasons (Durant, George, Harden, Beal).
Durant left Westbrook, then he left Curry, and he may very well leave Harden/Irving. That says more about Durant than it does about Westbrook.
We agree that the Lakers are bad. Generally, when a team is bad we look toward the leader and the best player when assigning blame. So, LeBron bears most of the responsibility for this fiasco.
The Lakers squad from a few years weren’t going to play THAT much better than this years squad because AD is always injured and James is older and is suffering more injuries now than he has his entire career. Enter Westbrook. He carry the load a little more over 82+ games as the primary ball handler. That hasn’t happened yet. I have hope but I doubt it.
As soon as the Westbrook was traded, I thought the Lakers would give him the keys to the offense. He would be the primary ball handler and James and AD can do their work early in the post and get out on the break. The total opposite has happened, maybe even worse. The rotations are pretty bad and the offensive sets are terrible. Westbrook publicly blasted his coach, which says a lot because he never says much of anything during his post game interviews that warrants any scrutiny. Things are getting worse in LA. Westbrook will be the scapegoat.
EHR:
There is so much attention on James' current skill level--which is remarkable considering his age and longevity--that not enough is being said about the obvious fact that his body is breaking down from a health and recovery standpoint: he gets hurt more often than he did when he was younger, and it takes him longer to recover after he gets hurt.
Vogel is in a tough spot dealing with GM LeBron and Coach LeBron, but Vogel should take the attitude "If I am going to be fired then I will be fired after coaching my way." I would think that he knows enough about basketball to not make some of the moves that he has made, but maybe I am wrong.
Marcel
That team with kuzma kcp caruso etc is way better than this one
Caruso a much better defender than russ
Kuzma and kcp much better shooters than anyone on this squad
This team isnt good and russ trade was bad
I watch the lakers every year i kno
Marcel:
That team with versions of James and Davis that were healthy and motivated was better than this one. Until James and Davis become healthy and motivated again this team has no chance of being as good as the team from two years ago.
I am mystified that you and so many others are focused on shooting. You say that you watch the Lakers "every game" and "every year." Have you not noticed how awful this team is defensively? No amount of shooting can make up for the awful defense.
The Westbrook trade looks bad now because the Lakers stubbornly refuse to utilize Westbrook correctly. What they are doing is the equivalent of trading for Stephen Curry but insisting that instead of shooting three pointers he must post up on every possession--and then complaining that Curry is not posting up effectively. Westbrook's game is based on getting rebounds, pushing the ball, and creating easy shots. Before the season, I thought that James and Davis would embrace playing defense, and then filling the lanes on the fast break. I did not realize that what James wants to do is slow the game down and make sure that he scores at least 25 points in every game so that he can break Kareem's record before his body breaks down.
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