Revisionist History: What if the Lakers Didn’t Trade for Russ

That Offseason

Coming off a season where the Lakers suffered a first-round exit, it’s understandable that changes were needed rather than running it back, especially considering how poorly KCP, Caruso, and Kuzma had performed. Many people tend to forget the context of their poor play. While Russell Westbrook wasn’t the ideal player to acquire—a ball-dominant player with subpar shooting and defensive skills—considering the season he was coming off and what they gave up, it was defensible at the time. However, today, everyone remembers how poorly it went and how Jokic helps make KCP look good, or Kuzma puts up impressive counting numbers, albeit empty ones.

Ideally I would have wanted to add more shooting as well rather than Westbrook. At the time, Westbrook was coming off a season where he averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and led the NBA in assists with 11.7, boasting a PER of 19.5. Despite dealing with a quadriceps injury early in the year, he averaged 23.0 points, 14.0 assists, and 13.5 rebounds over the final six weeks of the regular season, helping lead the Wizards to the playoffs. The Lakers traded Kuzma, KCP, and Montrezl Harrell. Kuzma would have needed a new contract soon. While the financial aspect of acquiring Westbrook was substantial, at the time, but many of the trade grades were in the C range.

2021-22

Both LeBron and AD missed substantial time this season playing 56 and 40 games respectively. This team was always going to be doomed to fail. Having Kuzma and KCP would have changed nothing this season.

2022-23 

Westbrook returned this season more willing to adapt, accepting a bench role. The Lakers leveraged his massive expiring contract and a first-rounder that was protected to revamp their team, acquiring D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt. Russell and Vanderbilt both became starters, although Vanderbilt’s role was mostly symbolic, averaging 16 minutes per game. Nonetheless, they acquired two starters from the deal who helped propel them to the conference finals.

In hindsight, would it have been better for the Lakers to pay Kuzma $25 million, as he eventually demanded, and KCP $15 million? Would they have been in a better spot? Ultimately, they opted for younger players on favorable deals with team control.

Conclusion

Despite the outcome, I don’t believe the Lakers were poised to win additional championships even if they retained KCP, Caruso, and utilized their salary cap space and picks differently instead of acquiring Westbrook. Paying Talen Horton-Tucker what he got, and playing him 25 minutes a game instead of finding more shooting out of that spot was always the compounding problem to me.

In my opinion, the decision to pursue Westbrook was a defensible gamble at the time, notwithstanding the spacing concerns. Acquiring a former MVP at 32, who led the league in assists and applied significant pressure on opposing teams in transition, for a couple of role players and minor draft assets wasn’t the worst deal ever, especially if Westbrook adjusted his attitude early on, became more willing to defend, set screens, and accept a lesser role, which he has shown improvement in over the last couple of years.

Considering the lack of other attainable star players in the league through consolidation of role players who underperformed in the previous playoffs and a late first-round pick, the trade for Westbrook wasn’t necessarily detrimental to the team’s overall standing. D’Angelo Russell has become the new Russell that is the whipping boy target of criticism. Given LeBron and Davis’s propensity for missing games, adding another high-usage player was necessary. Despite Russell’s playoff shortcomings, he offers shooting and facilitating abilities at a reasonable salary, which is often difficult to find in the market.

KCP has found a good fit in Denver, benefiting from playing alongside Jokic, who is currently at the peak of his abilities. Jokic’s exceptional play elevates those around him, enabling them to get great shots, which is something LeBron, at his current stage, would not be able to replicate. Even if KCP and Kuzma had remained with the Lakers, it’s plausible to argue that not much would have changed. In fact, one could make the case that the Lakers might have fared even worse.