Lakers Rumors: L.A. Engaged In Trade Talks To Acquire Russell Westbrook

Ryan Ward
4 Min Read
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the busiest teams in the league heading toward Thursday night’s 2021 NBA Draft, with the storied franchise potentially working on multiple trades.

One name that the Lakers have been eyeing for a while now is Washington Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook as he is from L.A. and has close relationships with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

With the draft on the horizon, it appears the Lakers are ready to make a big move as according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, they are on the verge of acquiring Westbrook for a blockbuster package involving Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the 22nd overall pick:

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report though, the deal could be expanded and may not be finalized on draft night:

The Lakers have been linked to virtually every big-name player and role player available heading into the offseason, with Westbrook being among the names linked to the franchise. The Wizards appear to be on the verge of shaking things up as Bradley Beal could also be on the move before the draft or before the 2021-22 season.

Another player the Lakers have been consistently linked to over the past week or so has been Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings. Hield has been on the outs with the Kings for quite some time with a parting of the ways being seemingly inevitable.

Before the news broke about a potential deal getting done between the Wizards and Lakers, a trade with the Kings was reportedly in the works. Hield would head to Los Angeles in exchange for Kuzma and Harrell, but that won’t be the case if the deal for Westbrook goes through at some point.

If the Lakers and Wizards expand the trade to make it a three or four-team deal then there’s potential the Lakers end up with both Westbrook and Hield. That would take a lot of maneuvering from Rob Pelinka though so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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Ryan Ward is a Reporter/Editor and shares duties of being a Social Media Manager on a daily basis at Lakers Nation. As a credentialed member of the media, Ryan covers Lakers home games, press conferences as well as interviewing players from both the NBA and NFL. A Los Angeles native, but born and bred in the UK. Long-suffering Raiders fan and a Liverpool supporter since birth.
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