Lakers

Last season was a disaster for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team finished with a 33-49 record, fourth worst in the Western Conference.

In one of his worst individual seasons, it was enough for him to stand out from the rest of his teammates. However, in the face of the criticism she began to receive, Buss 'softened' her statements by correcting himself and saying that Westbrook was merely the "most consistent". If the collective performance wasn't up to par, neither was the performance of the individuals. "What I can say, from my point of view, is that he was our best player last year," Buss explained in an interview with The Athletic. [Unexpected NBA bombshell: Donovan Mitchell is traded to the Cavaliers](https://www.marca.com/en/basketball/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/2022/09/01/631112fe46163f9e488b4599.html) [Durant and Irving have a new squire: Markieff Morris signs with the Brooklyn Nets](https://www.marca.com/en/basketball/nba/brooklyn-nets/2022/08/30/630e58a2e2704e37568b45da.html)

The Los Angeles Lakers have been trying their best to trade Russell Westbrook this entire offseason. Russ is earning a huge salary and, quite frankly, ...

You just gotta have to tell him that. Smith believes Russell Westbrook will have a comeback season](https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/stephen-a-smith-has-high-expectations-from-russell-westbrook-next-season-i-think-hell-be-much-better-this-year-make-no-mistake-about-it). Even if they can’t trade him, you have to tell Russell just go home. Well, DA has an interesting idea for the franchise that might do the trick. Unfortunately, none of the teams have been interested in an offer provided by the iconic NBA franchise. The entire NBA is aware of the Lakers' stance about Russ, and they are not making it easy for the Lakers.

As rumors continue to swirl about Russell Westbrook's future, the Los Angeles Lakers aren't necessarily looking to rush a trade involving the former NBA MVP ...

Otherwise, the only first-rounders they will own for the rest of the decade are in 2026 and 2028. The nine-time All-Star averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 78 starts last season. But they might not be looking to make a deal that requires them to give up either of those future picks. She later clarified the comment, noting "the word I should have used was ‘consistent,'" to describe his performance. [reported](https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1564689460838768646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1564689460838768646%7Ctwgr%5Ebb623fe4b39f71a2682bcec21a674c16c445ee67%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.silverscreenandroll.com%2F2022%2F9%2F1%2F23333066%2Flakers-rumors-patrick-beverley-russell-westbrook-talked-trade-play-together-darvin-ham) this week in his Substack newsletter that Ham has spoken to Westbrook and Beverley about lineups with both of them on the court together. "Either the Lakers up their offers in pursuit of a trade centered on Myles Turner and (Buddy) Hield in Indiana or they turn their sights back to the Jazz to try and pick the bones of a former contender thrust into a rebuild," Woike wrote.

The Russell Westbrook question is an ongoing one for the Los Angeles Lakers. The point guard remains on the Lakers' roster despite the front office shopping ...

The front office has been insistent that they get back real pieces in a Westbrook trade and so far have stood firm on that. Whether or not he can get the point guard to buy into and thrive in that role remains to be seen. There were some rumblings that the Lakers could possibly just send Westbrook home but that no longer seems to be the case.

The Pacers were reportedly asking for Russell Westbrook and Talen Horton-Tucker along with multiple picks from the Lakers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.

If Pritchard’s resolve eventually starts to crack, the Lakers can finally get a deal done and put an end to all of this consternation over Hield and Turner. They’re digging their heels in on getting multiple first-round picks for Westbrook, yet they were willing to send Brogdon away for a better team in exchange for a bunch of scraps? Where was this negotiating determination when they gave [Malcolm Brogdon away to Boston](https://www.nba.com/news/pacers-celtics-malcolm-brogdon-trade) for cheap?

Dec 28, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

[Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2022-09-01/donovan-mitchell-trade-jazz-cavaliers-russell-westbrook-lakers), the Lakers are comfortable heading into training camp with Westbrook still on the team. The main reason they have resisted is that teams want at least one first-round pick in return if they are going to take on Westbrook’s $47 million contract. There was some talk this offseason about the Los Angeles Lakers possibly unloading Russell Westbrook as part of a three-team trade involving Donovan Mitchell, but that did not happen.

The Los Angeles Lakers are interested in three Utah Jazz veterans who could be available for trade ahead of the 2022-23 season. L.A. has "some interest" in.

The 33-year-old has a $19.6 million cap hit for the 2022-23 season. Conley should be among the most desirable players for the Lakers among Utah's available veterans. Clarkson would also provide the Lakers some solid perimeter shooting. He already has 15 first-round draft picks over the next seven drafts. The 6'7" forward averaged 18.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 69 games last season while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from deep. The 30-year-old averaged 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 79 games last season while shooting 41.9 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from deep.

Russell Westbrook is still part of the Los Angeles Lakers, even though the team has reportedly tried to ship him elsewhere even since last season.

Westbrook is a polarizing figure and Lakers Nation learned that firsthand last season. A bad deal now that forces them to offload one or two future firsts wouldn’t dramatically raise the ceiling on this year’s team and handcuff them even more down the road, sort of a worst-case scenario for the organization. They failed to trade Kyrie Irving, and it looks like they will stick with Westbrook at least for one more season.

Zillgitt listed Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, and Bojan Bogdanovic as players who could potentially be on Utah's trade block following the Donovan Mitchell deal ...

We will continue to monitor the Los Angeles trade situation. They will likely continue looking to add ahead of the season and won’t limit their options to the Jazz veterans either. The Lakers endured a dreadful 2021-2022 season.

Now that the Lakers have acquired Patrick Beverly, where does he fit in the rotation? We analyze the roster and various position battles.

[Wenyen Gabriel](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/wenyen-gabriel-r8zgk7urDgmH0hNc/) and [Max Christie](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/max-christie-oDo4XabDFb92aqR9/) as the players on the outside of the rotation. The Lakers could also opt for more of an 11-man rotation, which is the projection here. Nunn is the best player on paper, and could, in a sense, end up as the Lakers’ best “free-agency” addition this season. [Kendrick Nunn](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/kendrick-nunn-rjceJWYw6Ch2xsmM/), [Lonnie Walker IV](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/lonnie-walker-iv-2sfXhCJcdZ77aJbu/) and Troy Brown Jr. Walker reprises the Monk role of instant offense and swings in efficiency. [Thomas Bryant](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/thomas-bryant-dq4B2s0HiwRTR3cB/) have been two of the standout performers in player workouts, league sources told The Athletic. There is enough overlap between Reaves and Beverley that the Lakers don’t lose much regardless of their choice. Walker has the largest salary of any signing the offseason, and [Russell Westbrook](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/russell-westbrook-6Eb0XPY16UzzJWbc/) remains in Los Angeles, there is expected to be an open competition for the second backcourt spot, primarily between Austin Reaves and Beverley. [Lakers](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/lakers/)’ projected depth chart, rotation and positional battles. The Lakers can use him as a change-of-pace disruptor who comes off the bench a few minutes into the game for Westbrook, creating opportunities later in the first quarter and at other times to deploy Westbrook-Anthony Davis-shooters lineups. There is an argument either way, and the coming weeks will determine which player ultimately gains the edge.

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly still show interest in some of Utah Jazz veterans that remain on the roster after Donovan Mitchell's trade.

And the Lakers seemed to have hoped to acquire at least one of them — while parting ways with Russell Westbrook — in [a three-team deal](https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-l-a-has-decent-chance-to-be-involved-in-donovan-mitchell-deal/2022/08/30/) that would send Donovan Mitchell to the New York Knicks. If the Lakers were to take back someone like Conley, who it set to make $22.7 million this season and $24.3 million ($14.3 million guaranteed) next season, then perhaps the draft capital going back to Utah would be less significant than two first-rounders. Other Utah players who could be on the trade market include Clarkson, Malik Beasley and Rudy Gay so there are a number of different combinations that Rob Pelinka can come up with if he wants to complete another deal with the Jazz. It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more! But since then, the Lakers have only acquired Patrick Beverley, sending Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson to the Utah Jazz. But the Purple and Gold still lack shooting on the roster almost exactly a month before their first preseason game tips off.

The Los Angeles Lakers have to re-evaluate Russell Westbrook's trade market but the latest rumor may indicate a surprise trade with NY is possible.

Veteran point guard Patrick Beverley should, if healthy, be able to chip in with the kind of outside shooting touch and defensive aptitude that Westbrook ...