Currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference at 26-28, the Los Angeles Lakers are teetering and on the brink of wasting a season of LeBron James. Every game from here on out is must-win for the Lakers and their $44.2 million starting point guard looks like a colossal offseason mistake. Westbrook's shortcomings at this point in his career have been discussed at length. It's clear that the organization should have opted for the Buddy Hield package in the offseason.

However, time machines don't exist and the Lakers probably don't have the assets to acquire one if they did. They have to move forward and figure out a way to amend their mistake so they can salvage their season. Trading Westbrook is easier said than done as no team wants to take on his ginormous salary. Dumping Westbrook could've been achievable if the team actually had upcoming picks to trade. This is where the Houston Rockets come in as a potential Westbrook suitor that could help solve a lot of problems for the Lakers.

Disclaimer: If the Lakers were to put their 2027 first round pick on the table in a trade, it would require much more than a simple swap for veteran guard John Wall. People need to be realistic about how valuable that pick is. In 2026-27, the season that determines the value of that pick, LeBron James will turn 42 years old and may have already retired before playing. Anthony Davis, someone with a well-documented track record of injuries, will turn 34 that season. The Lakers also don't have control of their own draft in that entire period so it's not like they'll have stocked up on great young talent either.

That pick has a great probability of being in the lottery and perhaps a top-10 selection. Even if you don't think that highly of the Lakers front office, they aren't naive enough to just give that pick away for any trade that rids them of Westbrook. It's a real asset and to get a real asset, you have to give something of value.

Trade #1: A more reasonable John Wall swap

Lakers receive:

John Wall

David Nwaba

Rockets receive:

Russell Westbrook

2027 first round pick (top-4 protected)

Reasoning:

In all honesty, the Lakers still probably don't do this trade. However, it's more reasonable that the Wall for Westbrook swap that's constantly thrown out there. Houston has to give at least one sweetener in order to get that 2027 pick. After LeBron James, the Lakers have some of the worst defensive wing depth among playoff contenders. They're incredibly reliant on players like Stanley Johnson, Trevor Ariza, and Avery Bradley. David Nwaba isn't perfect, but he's much younger and more reliable than most of the Lakers' other options. Wall and Nwaba as a package help get the team back to it's original identify: defense.

It's still probably not enough, but it's closer to something that might actually happen.

Trade #2: Lakers get Eric Gordon

Lakers receive:

Eric Gordon

Rockets receive:

Talen Horton-Tucker

Kendrick Nunn

2027 Lakers first round pick (top-4 protected)

Reasoning:

This is the first trade proposed that has nothing to do with Russell Westbrook. It properly assumes that the Lakers can't move him. Instead, they're paying a high price for Eric Gordon, but not without some protections. Gordon immediately becomes Los Angeles' best wing option after LeBron James. He can defend, space the floor, and play off of Westbrook in a way few other players in the NBA can. Houston probably doesn't get offered a better package at the deadline than this.

Trade 3: Houston sends the calvary

Lakers receive:

Eric Gordon

Daniel Theis

David Nwaba

D.J. Augustine

Rockets receive:

Russell Westbrook

2026 Lakers first round pick swap (unprotected)

2027 Lakers first round pick (unprotected)

Reasoning:

To give credit where it's due, this was a trade proposed to me by Bleacher Report's Dan Favale. It's pretty ingenious as it combines the best of trades 1 and 2. The Lakers rid themselves of Westbrook and instead get an awesome fitting piece next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Eric Gordon. Gordon isn't quite as young as Buddy Hield, but he's better defensively and has more experience in important playoff games. James can go back to playing point guard on offense with Gordon by his side to space the floor and play competent defense.

David Nwaba and Daniel Theis both actually make the Lakers‘ bench younger and helps them return to a defensive identify. D.J. Augustin is kind of a throw-in to make salaries match, but he adds some shooting and stability at backup point guard.

This is a hell of a price to pay, but the Rockets' would be doing Los Angeles an actual favor here in improving their roster (as opposed to a Wall-for-Westbrook swap). The Rockets probably aren't getting that kind of value for those combined assets anywhere else. It's a fair deal, but the Lakers will suffer consequences for their recklessness in the Westbrook pursuit down the line.