Russell Westbrook and John Wall are two players in peculiar situations. Of course, the two were traded for one another just a couple of years ago, as the Wizards picked up Westbrook from the Rockets, all while sending Wall to Houston. Since that time, Westbrook has become a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, all while Wall refuses to suit up for the Rockets. Westbrook has not been the player that the Lakers were hoping for him to be, and at this point, Lakers fans wouldn't be sad to see him go.
With this in mind, there are now rumors that the Lakers could be looking at a trade for John Wall, with Westbrook being the main draw. Many fans deemed this as ridiculous, however, some reporters were claiming that the talks have taken place. In a report from Kelly Iko of The Athletic, this trade could be possible, but it is still unlikely as the Lakers would have to give up a pretty big haul. Not to mention, Westbrook would not be interested in returning to Los Angeles.
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Via The Athletic:
"Ironically enough, the one team that could offer a clean solution to a Wall trade is the Los Angeles Lakers. Former MVP Russell Westbrook is making nearly identical money to Wall over the next two seasons. Marc Stein of Substack reported Houston’s interest in an incentive-based deal that The Athletic can confirm, but there are caveats to this. For starters, this is not a situation where Houston is interested in Westbrook. Both parties have already been down that path and are at different places respectively. The Rockets are only interested in finding a solution for Wall’s situation. Westbrook would likely never suit up for Houston in that instance. For a deal to get done, Houston would have to be enticed by an aggressive Lakers approach — one involving either a third team or suitable additional assets — to make it work. Houston would require the Lakers’ 2027 first-rounder in such a deal, sources tell The Athletic, but it’s unclear how willing the Lakers are to put that on the table."
This is going to be an angle to watch over the next few weeks, as the NBA trade deadline goes down on Thursday, February 10th. Let us know what think of such a deal, in the comments section down below.
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