We are just a couple of months away from the start of the regular NBA season and we still have little idea of what will happen with Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Will the troubled guard stick around in the city of angels or be sent packing?
If he does leave, which team is going to take on his massive contract?
And if no one bites, what will the Lakers decide to do?
If the Lakers can’t trade Russell Westbrook, should they consider the drastic scenario of sending him home?@jovanbuha makes the case.https://t.co/N05Xdii2RS pic.twitter.com/B2yhuzowSf
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) July 18, 2022
NBA writer Jovan Buha has an idea but it is one that would be very expensive for LA.
He says that if the Lakers can’t find a team willing to take on Westbrook and his punishing paycheck, they should instead decide to just send him home.
Yes, they should pay him and bench him or waive him, says Buha.
Is this really something the Lakers would consider?
Waiving Westbrook
This isn’t the first time someone has suggested that Westbrook get paid and still not play for LA.
It’s a drastic measure, extreme to be sure, but it might be one that LA will look toward if they can’t send him to another team.
Westbrook is not a bad player, despite what some people (and Skip Bayless) say, but he isn’t fitting with the Lakers, at least not right now.
So it might make more sense to pull him instead of inserting him into a lineup that just doesn’t work with him.
Head coach Darvin Ham has suggested that Westbrook’s role would be different in the upcoming season, possibly meaning the former MVP wouldn’t start every game.
But if Westbrook really can’t get it together, he might end up watching the entire season from the comfort of his own couch.
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