Lakers may have a ‘soft deadline’ for trading Russell Westbrook
It is common knowledge around the NBA that the Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to trade Russell Westbrook for at least the last six months.
So far, they have not received an offer they consider satisfactory, although that could always change.
It is mid-summer, which means there are nearly two months remaining before the start of fall and the opening of training camp.
Although the second half of the summer is usually a dead zone in the NBA, significant or even major trades sometimes do happen.
One journalist, Jovan Buha of The Athletic, reported the Lakers may have set a deadline of sorts for themselves as far as moving Westbrook.
Via The Athletic:
“There is a sense among some that training camp is a soft deadline to move Westbrook. If he’s on the roster in late September, there will be a massive off-court distraction, with the media asking about his future, his relationship with James and the organization, Ham’s vision of his role and responsibilities.”
If Westbrook is still a Laker when training camp starts, even if he does everything right in terms of team chemistry and relations, there will then be the matter of how to integrate him with the rest of the roster, especially offensively.
If this past season was any indication, that will be a Herculean task, to say the least.
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