During the summer of 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in a massive five-team trade. Westbrook was expected to play a major role alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and considering he averaged 22.2 points and an NBA-leading 11.7 assists per game the preceding season, it was viewed as a worthwhile risk, even if the fit appeared awkward.
However, things did not go according to plan.
Westbrook’s production cratered with the Lakers, as the nine-time All-Star registered just 18.5 points per game on miserable 44.4/29.8/66.7 shooting splits.
It was becoming increasingly obvious that Westbrook’s athleticism was waning, and his ability as a two-way player was disintegrating more and more with each passing day.
The Lakers ultimately dealt Westbrook to the Los Angeles Clippers midway through the following campaign, ending the guard’s brief but disastrous run in purple and gold.
Recently, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz reassessed the trade and gave the Lakers an “F” grade for the move.
“We’re not going to bury the lede here, as the Los Angeles Lakers trading for Russell Westbrook was a decision that has haunted the franchise for the past three years,” Swartz wrote.
The Lakers sent out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell in the deal.
What went wrong for the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook?
Even though Westbrook posted solid numbers with the Wizards during the 2020-21 season, you could still an obvious decline.
The Lakers chose to overlook that because of the cachet Westbrook carried and the potential that a Westbrook-James-Davis trio presented.
Westbrook had tremendous difficulty playing alongside of James, particularly given that the former Oklahoma City Thunder star was never exactly a floor spacer.
On top of that, Westbrook’s tendency to dominate the ball didn’t exactly play into Los Angeles’ favor, resulting in the Lakers going just 33-49 in his first year with the club.
Of course, LA’s lack of success in 2021-22 was certainly not all Westbrook’s fault, but his miserable performance certainly played a role in the club’s demise.
Westbrook was certainly a bit better with the Clippers, although he was clearly far removed from his old self there, as well.
Now, Westbrook is a member of the Denver Nuggets, where he will hope to help Nikola Jokic win his second championship.
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is still looking for his first ring, and the Lakers are still recovering from what was an unmitigated disaster of a trade.
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