Unlike teams like the Brooklyn Nets and the Utah Jazz that have made demands to rival teams with regard to what they want in return in a potential trade deal for the superstars, it's actually the other way around for the Los Angeles Lakers. For their part, it's LA who needs to give up significant assets just to be able to get Russell Westbrook off their team.
At this point, it is clear that the Lakers will need to give up a whole lot if they want to move on from Russ. Not too many teams out there (if any at all) want Westbrook and the $47.1 million he's owed this coming season on their roster. Unless, of course, there's something for them to gain in potentially taking on Russ and his gargantuan deal.
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times (paywalled) has provided some insight on the price the Lakers will need to pay:
In conversations with executives from rival teams in both conferences, it’s clear what the cost for any deal is going to be. It will take at least one first-round pick to park Westbrook somewhere and a second first-round pick to bring back multiple rotation pieces, sources with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly said. Those prices could rise (possibly with pick swaps) or lower (bad contracts coming back to the Lakers) depending on variables.
This isn't surprising at all. Unfortunately for the Lakers, not only will they be parting ways with an ex-superstar that's just a year removed from averaging a triple-double, but they will also need to give up significant draft capital. The question now is, how desperate is LA to get rid of Russell Westbrook?