With the 2022-23 NBA regular season just a couple of weeks away, there seems to be one Russell Westbrook trade that seems inevitable for the Los Angeles Lakers.
With NBA preseason well underway, all eyes over the next few weeks will be on the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a team that will be racing to make it work this season and, if not, all eyes will continue to be on the Lakers as they will be a strong candidate to make a trade.
And one trade idea that is beginning to feel almost inevitable is one that the Lakers have been linked to almost all summer long and one that the team almost made during the offseason. That news came to light earlier this week.
It’s a trade that would send Russell Westbrook and the two of the team’s future first-round picks in exchange for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.
Would this deal help the Los Angeles Lakers compete for a championship?
Should the Lakers get to a point where they are open to this deal, the big question for Los Angeles is whether or not this is a move that would inch the team close to winning a championship this season.
Quite frankly, the answer to that question is difficult to answer. Because before you answer that question, you have to answer whether or not the Lakers will have good health. If yes, perhaps this is a move that could help the Lakers win a championship.
Hield is still a good shooter and has the capability of being much more offensively. Hield is coming off a season in which he averaged 18 points, five assists, and five rebounds on 45 percent shooting from the field and 36 percent shooting from 3-point range in the 20-plus games after being shipped to Indiana. And playing next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis would make his life easier.
And Turner is absolutely a player that can play next to Davis and will make life for him easier on both ends of the floor. Last season in Indiana, Turner averaged 13 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks per game on 51 percent shooting from the field.
Hield and Turner are two very good NBA veterans but the Lakers need to ask themselves if paying such a steep price (that of two future first-round picks) is worth this deal. Though, considering all the information we have, this seems like a deal that is just waiting to happen. It seems inevitable.