It's panic time in LA, after the Los Angeles Lakers have scuffled to a putrid 0-3 start despite posting the third-best defensive rating in the NBA thus far. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have put up huge numbers to begin the year, but it has yet to count on the win column. Accordingly, Lakers fans have directed their ire towards the struggling Russell Westbrook, who has shot terribly to begin the year.

Many fans and pundits alike have called for the Lakers to ship off the former MVP in hopes of acquiring a player that better complements the LeBron and AD-led core, but it appears as if no trade is imminent, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Speaking on ESPN's Get Up along with Stephen A. Smith and Mike Greenberg, Wojnarowski revealed that it's more likely for the Lakers to force Westbrook into a smaller role, or, when worst comes to worst, out of the rotation entirely than to pull off a trade only a week into the season. (H/T RealGM)

“Well, I think a Russell Westbrook move to the bench is inevitable unless his performance changes, unless his team changes,” Wojnarowski said. “But the big trades that people want with the Lakers: Westbrook and his $47 million out with those first round picks that the Lakers have in '27 and '29… all the deals the Lakers didn't want to do in the offseason, that's all that's there two weeks into the season.”

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Some of the more realistic trades Woj alluded to that are still on the table include packaging Westbrook and the two aforementioned picks for a return headlined by the Indiana Pacers' duo of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield, as well as jettisoning Russ onto the “rebuilding” Utah Jazz for a package led by Mike Conley.

Nevertheless, it appears the Lakers are, indeed, playing hardball with their remaining draft assets, and no one could blame them, especially with LeBron James set to turn 38 on December. Perhaps the price of dumping a $47 million expiring contract decreases as the season goes on.

“Teams don't really get serious about doing deals and maybe pivoting away from trying to be a playoff team, or trying to go toward the lottery in a year where there's Victor Wembanyama available. They're not going to do that until 20 or 30 games into the season,” Wojnarowski added.

With Russell Westbrook likely to miss the Lakers' road game against the Denver Nuggets with a hamstring injury, it will be the ultimate litmus test as to whether Westbrook is indeed deserving of all the blame for the Lakers' rough start.