Lakers: Why Trade Russell Westbrook When He's Playing Good Basketball In LA?

Brodie has quietly done all that is needed from him.

December 15th marks an unofficial beginning of trade season in the NBA. Over 110 players who signed in the offseason are officially eligible to be on the trading block ahead of the trade deadline on February 10th. 

The Lakers have not had the 2021-22 season many were hoping for. LA is currently 15-13. The cohesion has not fully been there. The defense has not been there, and at times the offense has also not been there. On the offensive end is where Westbrook was supposed to shine. At the beginning of the season, Westbrook was understandably out of rhythm. This team had never played together at all. Not even a little. Still, Laker fans expect a certain level of play and it was not there.

With trade season getting closer and closer, trading Westbrook has become a notion Laker fans have entertained. It's understandable, but in every aspect--it's wrong.

Brodie Performing

Russell Westbrook's last 11 games:

• 20.4 PPG 

• 8.2 APG 

• 49.4% FG 

• 37.8% 3pt

• 7 RPG

In this same time period, the Lakers have a 7-4 record. If one were to venture over to basketball-reference.com, the overall numbers are not as good as his usual production, but those statistics are certainly skewed by his rough start. 

This roster was awkwardly assembled, to put it mildly. Three NBA superstars are taking almost 30 games to find their identity. In the big picture, that is a very small amount of time for a team like this to get comfortable playing good basketball with each other. Laker fans need to exercise just a little more patience because Westbrook is playing ball.