Russell Westbrook Trade Brings More Questions Than Answers For Los Angeles Lakers

Russell Westbrook and LeBron James will team up this season for the Los Angeles Lakers. But is it a … [+] good fit? (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

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There is little doubt that the Los Angeles Lakers will be the blockbuster team to watch for the 2021-22 season.

After acquiring former MVP Russell Westbrook in a draft day deal with the Washington Wizards, the Lakers finally formed their own “Big Three” trio alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Not long after the trade was made, the Lakers jumped from +600 betting odds to +400 betting odds to win the 2022 NBA Finals.

That’s just a tad behind the Brooklyn Nets, who are considered the championship favorites behind in their own “Big Three” in Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving with +-220 betting odds.

The deal wasn’t exactly surprising. Westbrook is a hometown product from Long Beach, California who played his college ball at UCLA. Furthermore, the Lakers’ disappointing first-round playoff exit last season just added further motivation to enter the offseason with an aggressive mindset.

The fact that Westbrook is one of the top players of this generation — and is one of the premier point guards in NBA history — also added to the Lakers’ desire to add the 32-year-old point guard.

But while the potential is certainly there for the Lakers to hoist their second Larry O’Brien Trophy in the Jeanie Buss-Rob Pelinka era, there are far more concerning questions than answers.

The Lakers did need a playmaker capable of handling the ball to take the pressure off of James. Especially when one considers that Dennis Schroder was always likely on the way out after rejecting the team’s four-year, $84 million contract extension offer.

And obviously, they filled that void by adding Westbrook.

But there are two main concerns following the acquisition of Westbrook — and they’re major ones.

For one, Westbrook’s fit on the team is questionable one. While the Lakers did need another ball-handler, one could argue they didn’t need one of Westbrook’s magnitude. Instead, they could have opted to sign a guard who is more pass-dominant rather than someone who clearly looks to score first — and then pass second.

The concern of how Westbrook — who is ball-dominant — and James — who is also ball-dominant — will co-exist is a very real one.

Will Westbrook take a backseat to James despite the former’s lackluster jump shooting?

Or will James — who has developed into an efficient shooter over the years— take a backseat and allow Westbrook to control the pace of the game?

While the Lakers could have used more depth behind James when it comes to primary ball-handlers last season, they did have Schroder — and they still faltered.

The Lakers’ biggest weakness was their lack of long-range shooting. This led to an all-around stagnant offense, something the Lakers could not offset despite their superior defense (second in points allowed per game and first in defensive rating).

Los Angeles ranked 25th in 3-pointers made and 21st in 3-point percentage. This resulted in ranking 22nd in points per game and 24th in offensive rating.

As much of a scorer and playmaker as Westbrook is, he’s an absolutely inept 3-point shooter — he shot 31.5 percent from beyond the arc last season and is a career 30.5 shooter from 3-point range.

That means Westbrook ranked 149th among players in 3-point shooting last season.

Secondly — and perhaps this is the biggest issue — is his salary. The veteran point guard is due to earn over $44 million this season and holds a player option worth over $47 million for next season.

That means James, Davis and Westbrook alone will earn $120 million combined this season for the Lakers. The Lakers’ luxury tax threshold is somewhere around $136 million.

Entering this free agency period, there were only five total players under contract for the Lakers, including Marc Gasol and Alfonso McKinnie.

In other words, the Lakers are completely cap-strapped to the point they can only use the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.9 million) and offer minimum salary deals to free agents.

Which is the reason why during the first day of free agency, the Lakers agreed to terms with four of their former players — Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore and Wayne Ellington — because they will all sign on veteran’s minimum deals.

And while all four of those players still have gas in the tank, they’re all over 32 years of age.

Due to the Lakers being absolutely cash-strapped following the acquisition of Westbrook — they were already cash-strapped with James and Davis alone — Los Angeles had to allow a key player in the rotation — 27-year-old Alex Caruso — to walk in free agency.

Caruso ended up agreeing to terms on a four-year, $37 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. As valued as Caruso was by the Lakers, Los Angeles couldn’t even counter with an offer — and it probably has everything to do with their current salary cap situation.

While the Lakers held Caruso’s Bird Rights and could offer him whatever they wanted, they probably had their minds set on the fact that they still have to fill out half of their roster with minimum salary deals.

There’s little doubt that the James-Davis-Westbrook trio is an absolute marketing dream for the NBA and the city of Los Angeles. Especially when one factors in the Nets have their own star-studded trio.

But while the acquisition of Westbrook will certainly make headlines, it brings more questions than answers.

The uncertain nature of his fit playing alongside James combined with his robust salary cap figure might prove to be a hindrance in the Lakers’ quest for an 18th NBA title.