The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported this week that the Lakers have had internal discussions about possibly trading Russell Westbrook, but according to my sources around the NBA, the appetite for that player making $44 million this season and $47 million the next is very low.
Source: Dan Woike @ Los Angeles Times
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
For the sickos who like to watch, Thursday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast, YouTube version. Among the talking points, Russell Westbrook’s process with adjusting to teammates, and vice versa. @LockedOnNBAPods @LockedOnNetwork
youtu.be/uwLb68jVgAs?t=… – 2:08 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Thursday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We discuss reports about the Lakers looking to trade Westbrook (and others), Russ adjusting to his teammates, and the impact of Kendrick Nunn’s (impending?) return. #FirstListen @LockedOnNBAPods @LockedOnNetwork
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the… – 11:55 AM
Sam Amick @sam_amick
ICYMI, an NBA trade talk column, at @TheAthletic: On the Lakers’ Russell Westbrook dilemma, Sacramento’s (no-one-is-untouchable) search, the hurting Hawks, and more
theathletic.com/3052221/2022/0… – 11:40 AM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Lakers reportedly showed some some covert interest” in pursuing a Westbrook trade with rival teams sportando.basketball/en/lakers-repo… – 10:05 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers’ winning streak, LeBron James’ dominance & Russell Westbrook’s trade value. Talking those topics & more with @geeter3 & @Mike Bresnahan on @SpectrumSN. Tune in at 7 pm! – 9:26 PM
Matt Steinmetz @SteinmetzNBA
Doncic, Harden, Westbrook, T.Young, LeBron James (2015 Finals), Lillard all great players. But over years, Warriors’ defense has done great against teams with ball-dominant players. – 8:09 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Russell Westbrook trade rumors: Lakers showed ‘covert interest’ in dealing star guard earlier this season
cbssports.com/nba/news/russe… – 3:33 PM
Bob Garcia @bgarciaivsports
Russell Westbrook is working to silence his critics the only way he knows how.
#Lakers #LakeShow #NBA
sportscasting.com/russell-westbr… – 2:06 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Lakers had “covert interest” in talking Westbrook trade earlier in season nba.nbcsports.com/2022/01/05/rep… – 1:14 PM
Sam Amick @sam_amick
NBA trade talk, Russell Westbrook’s (continued) awkward fit and the Lakers’ willingness to discuss a deal there, Sacramento’s search and the hurting Hawks, at @TheAthletic
theathletic.com/3052221/2022/0… – 12:27 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Tuesday’s @LockedOnLakers podcast! We break down the Lakers’ win over Sacramento, big contributions from THT, Monk, Dwight and LeBron, and ZERO turnovers from Westbrook. #FirstListen @LockedOnNetwork @LockedOnNBAPods
Subscribe. Rate. Enjoy. Thx!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leb… – 11:24 AM
Ky Carlin @Ky_Carlin
Last night was the first turnover-less game for Russell Westbrook since 2016. That’s 407 games. That’s a wild stat. – 10:23 AM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Russell Westbrook last night:
✅ 0 TOV
Why is that noteworthy? It snapped his streak of 407 consecutive games with at least one turnover, by far the longest such streak since the NBA started recording individual turnovers in 1977-78. pic.twitter.com/liQwIwWlaZ – 10:01 AM
Dave McMenamin @mcten
New story: It was a turnover turnaround for Russell Westbrook and the Lakers on Tuesday es.pn/3pXEMpy – 3:31 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Frank Vogel “Russ is really invested in this team.” Admits Westbrook is “not always perfect” but cares about the team and its success. – 1:25 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Frank Vogel on Westbrook: “Russ is really invested in this team, you know that? He’s not always perfect but he really cares.” – 1:24 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Down 102-98, LAL scored on 9 straight trips starting at the 5:21 mark of the 4th, up until 2 missed FT’s with 24.8 left, when LAL led 119-114.
– Monk 3
– LeBron 3
– LeBron 3
– Monk floater
– Monk 3
– LeBron put-back layup
– Westbrook layup
– LeBron layup
– Westbrook 1 of 2 FT’s – 1:21 AM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Russell Westbrook on having zero turnovers tonight: “Just making easy reads.” – 1:19 AM
Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Gotta give Westbrook props for a no turnover game tonight – 1:19 AM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Russell Westbrook on his 0 turnovers tonight: “Just making easy reads.” – 1:18 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Russell Westbrook on zero personal turnovers: “Just making easy reads.” – 1:18 AM
J. Michael Falgoust @ThisIsJMichael
Westbrook just played 33 minutes without a turnover and there was snow in the Florida Panhandle the other day. Strange times – 1:08 AM
Marc J. Spears @MarcJSpears
Lakers guard Russell Westbrook did not commit a turnover tonight. He snaps his streak of 407 straight games with at least 1 turnover, by far the longest streak by any player since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78. @ESPNStatsInfo pic.twitter.com/UvaRXsozwK – 12:59 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
Russell Westbrook had 0 turnovers in 33 minutes tonight.
That’s the first time he’s played 30+ minutes without committing a turnover since 2013. pic.twitter.com/mBBIU0CSku – 12:55 AM
Jovan Buha @jovanbuha
Final: Lakers 122, Kings 114
The Lakers are back over .500 at 20-19. LeBron James (31 points) and Malik Monk (24) were awesome down the stretch, making big shots as the Lakers rallied from a mid-quarter deficit. Russell Westbrook had 0 turnovers.
Up next: vs. Atlanta on Friday. – 12:54 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
– Russell Westbrook: 0 turnovers tonight vs Kings:
– First game without a turnover since Game 5 of 2020 quarterfinals with Rockets vs Thunder
– First *regular season* game without a turnover since March 2016 with Thunder vs Trail Blazers (streak of 407 games with TO snapped) – 12:53 AM
Matt Williams @StatsWilliams
Russell Westbrook did not have a turnover for the first time since March 14, 2016.
That snapped a steak of 407 consecutive games with a turnover, the longest streak since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1977. – 12:53 AM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
Notable stat: Zero turnovers for Russell Westbrook tonight. The Lakers have just five as a team. – 12:52 AM
Dave Mason @DeuceMason
Russell Westbrook with 0 turnovers tonight against the Kings.
The first time he’s had 0 turnovers in a game since March 14, 2016. – 12:51 AM
Matt George @MattGeorgeSAC
Buddy Hield definitely took the Lakers choosing Westbrook personally. – 12:36 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
SAC ripped off an 11-0 run early in the 4th Q to take a 96-89 lead, matching their largest of the evening.
Both LeBron and Westbrook are 6 for 18 from the field. – 12:25 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Coming off a 9 turnover game, Russell Westbrook has yet to turn it over tonight. He also has two assists, as he’s been more aggressive looking for his shot, going 6 of 17 from the field towards 13 points. – 12:17 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Buddy Hield swiped the ball out of Russell Westbrook’s hands. Then Westbrook swatted him right at the rim. Fun seeing them go back and forth – 12:14 AM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Westbrook is 4-13 from the field in the first half, but he’s also got zero turnovers. The Lakers can absorb struggles with one or the other. “Both” is when things generally go sideways. AK – 11:37 PM
James Ham @James_HamNBA
Tech on Westbrook. – 11:02 PM
Kamenetzky Brothers @KamBrothers
Davion Mitchell absolutely locked up Westbrook on that possession, forcing the timeout. Really impressive stuff. AK – 10:59 PM
Dave Mason @DeuceMason
Watching Westbrook is paaaainful this season – 10:57 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Buddy Hield drained a 3 right over Russell Westbrook. I’m sure there’s some symbolism there…. – 10:57 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers coach Frank Vogel on Russell Westbrook downplaying his 9 turnovers in win over T-Wolves pic.twitter.com/MMt6gR9jOr – 9:54 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Vogel said it’s a bit of a surprise that L.A.’s 5th-most used line up (Westbrook, Bradley, Monk, Johnson, LeBron) has played only 36 min. together (13.5 net rating), but not really. Injuries/absences been story of season. Huge diff. compared to GSW PHX and UTA’s top lineups: pic.twitter.com/BOfYU1LeOG – 8:50 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Frank Vogel on Russell Westbrook: “Russell is a winning player. He’s really helping us.” – 8:48 PM
Bob Garcia @bgarciaivsports
Gary Payton believes he knows what is preventing Russell Westbrook from finding his footing with the #Lakers
#LakeShow #NBA
sportscasting.com/hall-of-famer-… – 8:10 PM
More on this storyline
All of which explains why sources say the Lakers showed some covert interest in discussing a possible Westbrook trade with rival executives earlier this season. A deal appears extremely unlikely before the Feb. 15 trade deadline, if only because his deal that was once seen by so many as untradeable is such a massive obstacle. But inside the Lakers, it seems, there is some recognition that this hasn’t gone as (James and Davis had) planned -via The Athletic / January 5, 2022
Jake Fischer: The only outgoing call I confirmed was to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons… When I got the information that they called about Ben, the conversation pretty much was, “We’re interested in Ben. How would we get there?” The obvious solution is Russell Westbrook. He’s not a player on that Sixers list that they have. -via HoopsHype / December 15, 2021
The trio of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook simply hasn’t blended as well as Lakers figures hoped, and Los Angeles has held internal discussions on trade scenarios for Russell Westbrook, league sources told B/R. But moving Westbrook and the two years, $91 million remaining on his contract does seem unlikely. -via Bleacher Report / December 14, 2021