Lakers: NBA Expert Outlines the Russell Westbrook Trade LA Must Make This Summer

ESPN's Tim Bontemps explains how the Lakers can quickly become contenders again this offseason.

The latest wave in the ocean of Lakers mediocrity has been analysts debating whether or not GM Rob Pelinka should trade a currently disgruntled LeBron James this summer. 

Trading LeBron James makes for an intriguing conversation, but at the end of the day, trading away a superstar of his caliber rarely works out for teams.

Tim Bontemps of ESPN labeled the idea of trading LeBron as "crazy" in an episode of Hoop Collective. Instead, Bontemps explained how the Lakers can quickly reshape themselves back into contenders this summer.

“If they turn Russell Westbrook, and his massive expiring contract…if they basically do in reverse what they did last summer and get a few decent players for Westbrook’s expiring contract and toss in some sort of incentive to do that...they can probably do that without nuking their cap space, and then have a chance to win, because if they just put three or four decent players around those guys [LeBron and Davis] they’re back to the team they were a couple years ago which was the one-seed.”

As Bontemps mentions, Russell Westbrook is owed $47M in the final year of the super-max contract he signed back in 2017 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Trying to trade away Westbrook this summer would presumably be an easier lift than it proved to be at this year's NBA trade deadline.

Analysts and fans can debate whether or not the Lakers should trade LeBron James, but there's no argument that Westbrook has been poor fit on this LA roster.

Surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis with solid, "decent" rotation players is a proven concept. Rolling the dice on bringing in a third superstar past their prime is risky, at best.

Trading away LeBron James probably isn't the answer. 

Trading away Russell Westbrook probably is.