There has not been much movement with regard to the Los Angeles Lakers' supposed desire to trade away Russell Westbrook this summer. Unsurprisingly, team general manager Rob Pelinka has played a key role in all this. What is rather unexpected, however, is the high-ranking executive's strong stance on the potential deal.
According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, Pelinka has been unwilling to include draft picks in a potential trade package for Russ. This has, in turn, been met with a bit of bewilderment by the rest of the league:
So far, that’s a road the Lakers haven’t seriously taken, Rob Pelinka surprising plenty of folks around the NBA with his hesitancy to attach multiple draft picks with Westbrook in trade talks.
A few years ago, it would have been Westbrook's team that could have demanded draft picks as part of a trade deal for the former league MVP. Times have definitely changed, and at this point, it's the other way around. Right now, it's the Lakers who are expected to include their future draft picks as additional compensation for any team that might be willing to take on Westbrook's gargantuan contract.
For one reason or another, however, Rob Pelinka has not been amenable to this notion. I'm sure the Lakers' GM has his own motivation behind his rather unexpected stance. The problem, though, is that time is running out on LA as they look at the looming prospect of starting the new season with Russell Westbrook still in the picture.
Follow Us
Subscribe