The Russell Westbrook experience in Los Angeles has so far not been working. He was reportedly acquired by the Lakers to remove the workload out of LeBron James and to perhaps help Anthony Davis on offense. Unfortunately, this hasn’t come to fruition yet as L.A. is currently in the sixth seed of the Western Conference and are exactly at .500. 

Yes, the Lakers are dealing with injuries and a couple of players in and out of the health and safety protocols, but given how much cap space Westbrook consumes, the expectations must be high for the Brodie. And so far, it’s been a disappointing season for the Lakers. The good news for Los Angeles is that they still have enough time to move their supposed third All-Star. 

Here are the three best Russell Westbrook trade scenarios the purple and gold should be looking at: 

3 best Russell Westbrook trades for Lakers

Lakers offer: Russell Westbrook

San Antonio Spurs offer: Derrick White, Thaddeus Young and Dejounte Murray

Okay first of all, it’s worth noting that the Spurs don’t like transacting deals with the Lakers so the latter has to really persuade the former to do this. Second, this makes absolute sense for Los Angeles because it brings them back to their winning formula back in the 2019-2020 season — two efficient perimeter defenders, an anchor big and a wing. If the Lakers want to go back to how they first won the championship in the first place then they should try to look for a deal like this instead of acquiring an All-Star. 

Lakers offer: Russell Westbrook

Indiana Pacers offer: Myles Turner and Caris LeVert

The Pacers did say they were rebuilding and are open to taking on trades. If the Lakers really want a defensive big (who can bring back their identity before trading for Westbrook) and a scorer like LeVert, then they might want to call up Indiana. The Pacers can gain from acquiring Westbrook because they’re a rebuilding team and frankly Russ alone won’t raise their ceiling. The Pacers can tank with Russ and continue to sell tickets or gain traction. It’s tough for Westbrook but that could just be reality if his experiment in Los Angeles does not continue to flourish. 

Lakers offer: Russell Westbrook

Philadelphia Sixers offer: Ben Simmons, Danny Green, Jaden Springer

Ben Simmons' fit could be a little better than the Russell Westbrook move because the former is a fantastic perimeter defender — one that they severely miss this season. At least Simmons can contribute on this end while James and Davis take on the offensive duties. Davis’ workload on defense has been way more this season after acquiring Westbrook which has affected his performance. If Simmons helps Davis, maybe the Brow can be better on the offensive end. 

As for Philadelphia, well at least they finally get rid of Simmons by doing this deal. It’s hard to go through a season without the guy who takes on so much of your cap space. Acquiring Westbrook will give Joel Embiid a point guard and a partner on the offensive end. Westbrook is known for his durability as well and can take on the load when Embiid sits due to load management or injury.