The Lakers made a move for Rui Hachimura and he was rather effective against the Spurs showing Laker fans glimpses of what’s to come going forward into the future; assuming the Lakers do their due diligence in re-signing him this summer. Westbrook on the other hand has been a trooper, he willingly took a bench role early on this season and is currently 6th Man of the Year favorite. But all in all I still feel the Lakers should look to move Westbrook as the Lakers remain in dire need of 3-point shooting an area which Josh Richardson will help fill the void in and Jakob Poetl is one of the best all-around centers in the game at the moment.
He’s got a soft touch around the rim much like former hall-of-fame big man Pau Gasol and is a fantastic rebounder and rim protector along with being a proficient passer from the post and on give and go’s. I understand all the hype around Thomas Bryant but he’s a loose duckling compared to Jakob Poetl. Poetl’s game is more composed and he’s more fundamentally sound and would also make for a potent twin tower partner alongside Anthony Davis.
I understand Westbrook has taken somewhat of a step-back on the Lakers; he had to swallow his pride early on this season and has had vintage Westbrook performances where he’s scored 20+ points and dished out 10+ assists much like he did the entire 2010’s where he was a top 5 player in the NBA; but he deserves to start somewhere as he has proved he can still perform at a high-level although he is no longer the athlete he once was. What will Westbrook exactly do for the Spurs? Well he is an expiring contract and the Spurs’s season is slipping away as they sit second to last in the Western Conference standings; why not trade for Westbrook and give the San Antonio faithful something to cheer for at least this season? Westbrook might even take the Spurs on a second half ride much like he did with the Wizards in his lone season there in which he literally carried them the entire second half of the 2020-2021 NBA season en route to the playoffs.
Just something to look at as Rob Pelinka might have to go well over the tax just to re-sign both Rui and Jakob summertime; it might only be possibly to re-sign both if the Lakers bite the bullet and trade Davis who could put himself on the chopping block this summer.with yet another injury rattled campaign. If the Lakers really do have championship aspirations I believe it’s a move worth looking at as I just can’t wrap my head around Westbrook being of use for the Lakers come playoff time. A team requires cohesiveness and this present roster including Hachimura lacks that, maybe Darvin Ham has found a silver lining with Westbrook but boy if he finds a way to coach this Laker roster to a championship I’m ready to call him the new Phil Jackson; someone who neutralized huge egos like Rodman and Jordan and won championships.
D-NBA 