As expected, given the finances involved, Los Angeles Lakers baseman Russell Westbrook will exercise the $ 47.1 million option in the final year of his contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The Westbrook deal has been an asset that has been depreciating since he signed it in the months following his 2017 NBA MVP campaign with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The new All-Star hit has been ceded to the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards and Lakers for the past three years. The career-high 33-year-old averaged 31.6 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds per game down to 19-7-7 for the Lakers, eleventh, last season.
The Lakers also spent much of last year trying to find a trading partner for Westbrook’s big contract to no avail. They will continue to buy their deal now that it expires, but attaching future first-round elections increases the problem of finding teams capable of equalizing both salaries in an exchange. The Lakers want value in exchange for Westbrook, and that may be impossible to find for a $ 47 million replacement level player.
Westbrook has won a single playoff series in five appearances since his partnership with Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City ended in 2016. Westbrook’s high-use, low-efficiency basketball brand has given little more than an average record on the side. by James Harden and Bradley. Beal and LeBron James for the past three seasons, which raised questions about where he might find success when he turns 30.
Westbrook’s contributions to the Lakers’ disappointing 2021-22 season played a major role in the dismissal of Frank Vogel, who coached James and Anthony Davis for a championship in 2020. Westbrook attended the introductory press conference of the Lakers. new Lakers coach Darvin Ham earlier this month, and Ham paid. respect publicly.
“Russ is one of the best players our league has ever seen and he still has a lot left in that tank,” Ham said, though he asked Westbrook to “sacrifice” his game. “I don’t know why people tend to try to get rid of it.”
Ham stressed the need for Westbrook to contribute to the defense and hinted at the possibility of taking him off the bench. Westbrook’s inability to do the first and / or unwillingness to do the second could create a similar friction for Ham that Vogel experienced when trying to curb the influence of an MVP at once.
The freedom to be the player Westbrook believes is still not worth giving up $ 47.1 million and testing the free agent market to see if any other team would be willing to let him cook for a much higher salary. low. The Lakers and Westbrook made their bed in last summer’s hugely successful business, and now they have to stay one more season, unless a miracle trading partner emerges before their contract comes to an end.