Report: Westbrook met with LeBron, AD before Lakers trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Before Wizards and Lakers completed a trade Thursday night sending Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles for three players and a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the star guard met with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to discuss such a possibility, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Westbrook and Davis went to James’ home in LA roughly two weeks ago to have a conversation about the former Wizards guard potentially coming to the Lakers this offseason, per the LA Times’ Broderick Turner. Among several topics covered in those talks, the idea of putting their egos aside and bringing the Lakers another title was their main goal.
Coming back to his hometown in Los Angeles and winning his first championship were Westbrook’s key desires, per Turner, while James and Davis discussed changing their positions to put the Lakers in the best spot to win it all next year.
Fast forward two weeks and Westbrook is a Laker. He even told the Wizards he preferred to get traded to the Lakers if the Wizards could find a deal that worked for them, according to The Athletic.
The Lakers will be Westbrook’s fourth team in as many seasons. After spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the Thunder, the nine-time All-Star has been traded to the Rockets, Wizards and now Lakers in three consecutive offseasons.
James and Davis weren’t able to repeat as champions this season, bowing out in the first round to eventual league runner-up Phoenix Suns. Various injuries to James and Davis hindered the Lakers’ ability to find a rhythm all season.
Now, the Lakers will attempt to build a team around its three stars. After all, they did send three key role players to the Wizards to complete the Westbrook trade.