Lakers News: League Expert Wonders Why Lakers Want To Accommodate Russell Westbrook When They're Going To Trade Him Anyway

He kinda has a point.

On Thursday night, in the fourth quarter of a close game, a lineup without Russell Westbrook had helped your Los Angeles Lakers close the gap on their Tinseltown rival the Los Angeles Clippers. Everything fell apart the second head coach Darvin Ham, clearly trying to engage and placate Westbrook, subbed out Juan Toscano-Anderson, who had been a two-way force off the bench, and brought Westbrook back in. Westbrook immediately bricked a couple shots before being removed again, but the Clippers did enough to win, 103-97.

So what the heck happened? Why does a guy that everybody in the NBA world at large knows is not long for this team get to dictate anything about how he is used in the team's rotation? He already has been a bit outspoken after Ham tried to move him to the bench for one preseason game. He will almost certainly have public words for Ham if that happens again in the regular season. But the bench is also the best possible destination for him at this stage in his career, and he really isn't doing the Lakers any favors playing with the starters or to close out winnable games.

Yesterday, Brian Windhorst of ESPN spoke with fellow panelists Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson, Zach Lowe, and L.A. Sparks power forward Chiney Ogwumike in an "NBA Today" segment about the situation.

Here's Windhorst's big question:

"What Woj has said about waiting 20 games [to trade Westbrook] is a [what a lot of the league] does think that they should do. They think they might need them to wait 40 games, they meet even have to wait 50 games till the trade deadline. What the league -- and I feel the same way -- has some questions about is, in this interim, in these games now, why are the Lakers prioritizing making sure Russell Westbrook is comfortable when they should prioritizing [that] LeBron James is comfortable? ...From the day that Darvin Ham took over, his number one priority has been what? Maximizing the team around the all-time generational player still providing huge numbers, or dealing with the guy who's past his prime who's too surly to understand the reality? That is what is mystifying the league... why are they not doing what's most important for their best player?"

This is a totally reasonable question. Why are the Lakers handling Westbrook with kid gloves, when it's basically a foregone conclusion that he and some amount of future draft capital are going to be rerouted later this year to help accommodate LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the floor? That game was pretty close, and the last thing Darvin Ham probably wanted to do was play Westbrook in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. L.A. needs to remember who matters on this team in the 2022-23 season -- and who won't be on it by the spring.