The Los Angeles Lakers have finally traded Russell Westbrook after months of trade rumors. Russ will be moving to the Utah Jazz this year. The Lakers and Jazz agreed to a three-team deal where the 17-time NBA champs will receive Malik Beasley, D’Angelo Russell, and Jarred Vanderbilt. Jazz will land Russ, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, and a first-round pick. The Minnesota Timberwolves, on the other hand, will now have Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on their roster, along with 3 second-round picks.
Lakers add D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to their lineup after three-team deal with Jazz and Timberwolves, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/m6BPePzCqv
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 9, 2023
Russ’ trade might be good news for many Lakers fans, but it certainly has not been the case with LeBron James’ son Bryce James. The youngster is a great basketball prodigy on his own and surely has a bright career ahead of him. He was in attendance to witness his father make history and break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record recently. When reports of Russ’ departure emerged, Bryce took to Twitter to express his disappointment.
LeBron’s youngest son, Bryce, just posted this on IG 👀
Calling the Lakers’ Russell Westbrook to Jazz trade a: “L” pic.twitter.com/AvHnnb3uO6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 9, 2023
He did not write much, but it summed up his feelings clearly. Bryce wrote, “L” and replied to one of the posts that reported the news. It certainly indicates that he is not too happy about the trade and how things went down.
Should Russell Westbrook have been traded?
Westbrook joined the Lakers back in 2021 from the Washington Wizards. The NBA world expected him to be the player he was during his Oklahoma City Thunder days. The main reason for that was the numbers he put up for the Wizards before joining the Lakers. He only played the 2020-21 NBA season for the team but managed to average a sensational triple-double. Russ put up 22.2 points, 11.7 assists, and 11.5 rebounds per game. The community believed that he was back to his very best and that he could perform well alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron at the Lakers.
His time with the Lakers surely did not go according to plans. Russ is still on a quest for his maiden NBA title and the Lakers were probably his best shot. During his first season, the team made the playoffs but lost in the first round. In the next two seasons, the Lakers could not even make the playoffs. Considering the fact that they are the team with the most NBA championships alongside the Boston Celtics, it was pretty disappointing. Russ’ trade could not work out mainly because of the lack of chemistry between him and the other two superstars; LeBron and AD.
When things did not go well, Russ and other players were blamed by the fanbase for their failures. However, despite that, Russ was still putting up decent numbers, just not at his best level. During the 2022-23 NBA season, Russ has been averaging 15.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. Although they aren’t what the Lakers fans expected, these numbers are still good for a rotational player. His last game as a Laker surely indicates that he still has what it takes to make it in the game.
Russell Westbrook’s last game as a Laker:
27 Points
8 Assists
4 Rebounds
2 Steals
52% FG
4/7 3PM pic.twitter.com/sRo8oaMbpF— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 9, 2023
Whatever the case, Russ is now a Jazz player. He will finally be able to start games once again which will help to boost his confidence as well. The Lakers have also landed talented players to address their defensive and wing issues. All in all, the trade looks like it was beneficial for all the parties involved.
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