Rob Pelinka Explains Why He Traded Russell Westbrook

The Los Angeles Lakers needed to make some moves to bolster their roster.

And Russell Westbrook was the likeliest trade candidate, given his steep salary and the fact that he wasn’t even starting for them.

Of course, Westbrook was one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year honors, as he had embraced a new role coming off the bench for the purple and gold.

However, the fit was always questionable, and the situation became untenable when LeBron James openly admitted his disappointment in not landing Kyrie Irving.

It became evident that the experiment needed to end before Westbrook walked away as a free agent next summer, with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka admitting that they weren’t going anywhere with that roster:

“When we did the Russell Westbrook trade, we did it with the hope of bringing a championship – having a big three. Clearly, we fell short of that. But when something’s not working, as a general manager, your job is to fix it,” Pelinka admitted. “No one has a perfect track record. But when you feel like a team isn’t performing the way it’s supposed to you gotta rearrange the parts. And that was sort of what we did at the trade deadline.”

"When you feel like a team isn't performing the way it's supposed to you gotta rearrange the parts." Rob Pelinka talks about the trade deadline, preparing for the future, and more. pic.twitter.com/lAqr3kdHsb

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Thousands of fans raised their concerns as soon as Westbrook arrived in Southern California.

While his talents and impact weren’t in question, his fit next to Anthony Davis and LeBron James was clearly not the best.

His tenure with the purple and gold was far from ideal, with the fans and his wife constantly going at each other and him having the worst season of his career last year.

So, even though things didn’t work out, it wasn’t fair for either party involved to go on with this unwanted marriage until the end of the season.

The Lakers now have players who are a much better fit alongside their stars, and Westbrook will get another opportunity to play somewhere he’s actually appreciated instead of always being the fall guy.