At this point in the preseason, it just feels like Los Angeles Lakers fans are set to witness/endure yet another year of Russell Westbrook doing his thing for LA. Well, this actually might not be the case after ESPN's NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski dropped another bombshell regarding Russ' future with the Lakers.
According to Woj, the team has merely put the Westbrook trade talks on hold for training camp, and that negotiations should resume sooner rather than later (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):
“The Lakers at some point here will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades,” Woj said. “They paused it essentially at the start of training camp.”
“The Lakers at some point here will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades. They paused it at the start of training camp.”@wojespn on the Lakers’ plans 👀
pic.twitter.com/hEMt6vvN2k— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) October 14, 2022
Woj did not reveal which teams the Lakers have been in talks with, but very few sides out there would be willing (and able) to take on Westbrook's gargantuan deals. Tanking teams such as the San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz are a couple that instantly come to mind, with the possibility of a post-trade buyout looming for the former league MVP.
Russ made headlines for the wrong reasons after the Lakers' preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Westbrook did not look like he was very participative during a couple of team huddles, which quite frankly, may have been misconstrued a bit. Either way, the news was big enough for Russ himself to explain his actions by refuting the claims and reiterating that he's actually a “team player.”
Is the prospect of a looming trade weighing heavily on Russell Westbrook's mind right now? I guess we will never know the answer to this question. However, concerns about his future with the Lakers will likely be addressed in the near future.
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