The Lakers season didn’t go as expected and there’s no doubt that offseason changes are on the way.
The future of Russell Westbrook will be a major storyline this summer though finding a trade could be rather difficult given his $47 million salary. The Knicks have been floated as a possibility, yet reports late in the season indicated New York is out on the former MVP. Houston has been linked to Westbrook with John Wall being a possible trade piece headed to Los Angeles, though the Rockets had reportedly wanted a pick included with Westbrook.
Los Angeles hasn’t ruled out using the stretch provision on Westbrook, longtime NBA journalist Marc Stein reports on his Substack.
Such a move would take the team out of the luxury tax and help the club make additions or retain current players like Malik Monk.
More on the Lakers
- The Lakers waived Trevor Ariza in order to create a roster spot which will be used to convert a young player before Sunday’s deadline. Ariza played in 24 games during this stint with Los Angeles, scoring 4.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.
- Anthony Davis says he doesn’t believe the Lakers will end up trading him. “I can’t control those things,” Davis said earlier in the week. “That’s an upstairs thing. A Klutch, Rich Paul thing. My agency…I mean, my job is to go out and play basketball. Obviously, I love it in L.A. If that’s something that they’re considering, then we’ll have a conversation about it. I don’t know what they’re talking about, what’s the plan.”
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