The Lakers Have A ‘Standing’ Trade Offer From The Houston Rockets For Russell Westbrook
The Los Angeles Lakers expected more success this season with the help of former league MVP Russell Westbrook, but things turned out much worse as the team finished their campaign with a 33-49 record, which ultimately curbed their playoff hopes.
Westbrook failed to live up to expectations and struggled to find any consistent rhythm all year. As a ball-dominant player, he also had to fit in alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis which made it difficult for him to succeed as an individual.
On the year, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points (his lowest mark since the 2009-10 NBA season), 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game on 44.4% shooting from the field, 29.8% from the three-point line and 66.7% from the charity stripe.
Appearing on an exit interview, Westbrook held no punches when discussing his experience with the Lakers. According to the 33-year old point guard, the Lakers didn’t actually allow him to be himself at all, which was in contrast to LeBron and Davis’ message during the season.
His exit interview already made it seem as there won’t be a future of the Westbrook-Lakers pairing, then, the point guard removed all mentions of the Los Angeles Lakers from his Instagram page.
Now, it appears that the Lakers finally have an offer on their table – and it is one that has been offered before.
Back at the trade deadline, the Houston Rockets were asking the Lakers to send Westbrook and a first-round pick to Houston in exchange for John Wall. According to Spotrac’s Keith Smith, that offer from the Rockets still stands.
“The ideal situation for the Lakers would be to trade Westbrook. There’s considerable reporting that Pelinka has a standing offer to send Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for John Wall’s nearly-matching contract. The catch? LA will have to surrender one of the two tradable first round picks (in 2026, 2027 or 2028) they have left. The real question: Can the Lakers do better in a trade?”