The Los Angeles Lakers trade for Russell Westbrook can't be considered a failure just yet. After all, there's still a lot of basketball left to be played. But all the data gathered thus far as we go past the midway point of the season screams like it's hurtling remarkably fast towards that conclusion.
With the recent late-game benching from Lakers coach Frank Vogel and the ugly shooting displays that drag the entire team down at times, Russell Westbrook just has not jelled in purple and gold.
Westbrook's gargantuan contract makes him near impossible to move given the fact his on-court play can't justify the dollar figure. But rumors have surfaced that a deal may at the very least be plausible for the the man he was traded for last season in John Wall, now with the Houston Rockets.
While nothing is imminent just yet, if the option is available the Lakers should absolutely pounce on the opportunity to swap All-Star point guard for All-Star point guard. Here are three (3) reasons why.
3 reasons Lakers must consider Westbrook-Wall trade
It's true that Russell Westbrook and John Wall share similarities beyond just their oversized contracts. Both are ball-dominant point guards that can't shoot from the perimeter and rely on elite athleticism that's no longer entirely there.
However, there are minor nuances between the two players that makes John Wall a better stylistic fit than Russell Westbrook for the Lakers.
1. Wall is the (slightly) better shooter
For starters, John Wall is a slightly better outside shooter than Westbrook for his career. The difference (32.3% vs. 30.5%) isn't drastic, but as of right now Westbrook is a less than zero threat from beyond the arc, with defenses daring him to shoot.
During John Wall's throwaway season with the Houston Rockets last year, he shot 31.7% from three on a team that relied on him as their number one option, constantly playing with the ball in his hands. 31.7% is not a good number by any stretch of the imagination, but it's better than Russell Westbrook has shot in any of his last five NBA seasons.
Wall's shooting definitely goes up too if he's being set up for stand-still shots from LeBron James, something Russ just can't capitalize on.
John Wall is also a significantly better free-throw shooter than Russell Westbrook from the past few seasons. Russ has shot in the mid-60s in three of the past four years at the charity stripe while Wall has consistently been at the high 70s to low 80s mark throughout his career.
Yes, the difference isn't drastic. But if you need your point guard to take an open three-pointer or sink a pair of free throws during a clutch moment in the playoffs, you'd rather take the slightly better shooting threat. Speaking of playoffs..
2. Wall is the (slightly) better playoff performer
Once again, John Wall isn't markedly amazing in the postseason so much that Russell Westbrook just has a proven track record of underperforming in the playoffs.
If the goal of the Lakers is to make a deep playoff run in pursuit of a championship, Westbrook just isn't the man for the job. In his last five trips to the postseason, aka his playoff career after Kevin Durant left, Russell Westbrook has shot below 40% from the field in four of the last five playoffs. Just last season he shot 33.3% on 16.8 attempts in five playoff games for the Washington Wizards.
There's a reason Westbrook hasn't been able to escape the first round of the playoffs in four of those five years, despite playing with a fellow All-Star in each of those postseason campaigns. Russell Westbrook has shot worse in the playoffs compared to the regular season in every year of his 13-year career save for his sophomore season, the first time he made the playoffs way back in 2010.
John Wall hasn't played in the playoffs in a while nor in as many seasons, but he at least stepped up in his last two appearances. He upped his scoring and shot better from the field in his last two playoff campaigns compared to the regular season, something Russell Westbrook has virtually been unable to do.
3. Lakers need to shake things up
Teams often won't make trades just to make a lateral move. The goal in any NBA transaction is to get better else why bother, right? But Russell Westbrook is a special case.
With a near-immovable contract, there's not much out there the Lakers can trade for him, especially with the way he's struggled thus far this season. John Wall isn't a significantly better player than Russell Westbrook. However, in a way he's a toned down version of Westbrook in various respects. He brings some of Westbrook's strengths, while being not as bad with the weaknesses like shooting or head-scratching plays in crunch time.
You could certainly argue that the gap between the two is virtually splitting hairs. But the fact of the matter is, the product that the Lakers have been putting out has been subpar at best and downright putrid at worst.
Pairing Russell Westbrook with LeBron James isn't supposed to result in a .500 team, injured Anthony Davis or not. He was brought in part as injury insurance for the regular season anyways, but it's clearly not been the case.
NBA teams aren't supposed to make trades for the sake of shaking things up. But with LeBron James getting older by the season, maybe a midseason shake-up is exactly what they need to do.
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