Lakers News: LA Considering Another All-In Trade For Over-The-Hill Star Guard

Has Los Angeles learned nothing from the Russell Westbrook fiasco?

Your Los Angeles Lakers might be on the cusp of making their biggest personnel mistake in two years, one which on the surface sounds a lot like their last one.

Granted, there are more caveats this time around, namely that the point guard Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports LA has interest in is seven-time Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard, a knockdown shooter with a knack for getting things done in clutch situation.

Lillard can score from everywhere, is an excellent passer, and knows how to handle late-game situations. He's also 32 years old, an injury liability and a defensive sieve.

Oh, and there's the little matter of what he'll be earning in his dotage. Last summer, the 6'2" vet inked a two-year extension that will pay him $121.77 million from 2025-27, when he'll be 35 and 36. There's a decent chance that Los Angeles won't be carrying all of the three maximum-salaried contracts of Lillard, Davis and LeBron James, would be 40 at the start of that pricey window for Dame and 42 by the spring of 2027.

As you'll no doubt recall, the Lakers offloaded three key role players (okay, fine, two) to the Washington Wizards in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell -- plus a first round draft pick -- to acquire another 30+ year-old future Hall of Famer who was already clearly past his prime in Russell Westbrook during the summer of 2021.

To be fair, Westbrook was always going to be an awkward fit alongside two other pricey stars without consistent jumpers, and without his MVP-era athleticism he's struggled late in games for years. His fit issues differ from Lillard's.

Given that he's a small point guard rapidly approaching his mid-30s, his health and athleticism certainly don't seem likely to improve any time soon. Lillard has missed a brutal 77 games across the past two seasons due to various ailments.

When he did play last season, Dame D.O.L.L.A. put up great numbers (albeit on a lottery-bound team), averaging 31.9 points on .463/.371/.914 shooting splits, 7.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 0.9 steals a night.

But I for one had expected the Lakers would avoid trying build a "Big Three" once again, having seen the limitations of that kind of roster until this past February, when the Westbrook experiment finally, mercifully ended. Lillard is still a very good player, but the team thrived in the postseason this year thanks in large part to its depth. Soaking up cap space on three aging stars and filling out the rest of the roster with minimum contracts and a mid-level exception signing is too risky at this point in LeBron James' career, frankly.

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