NBA Rumors: Lakers Considering Trading for Wizards' Russell Westbrook?

After spending a large chunk of his career as the Oklahoma City Thunder's franchise player, Russell Westbrook found himself playing for a different organization ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season.

Linking up with James Harden in Houston, the Rockets' former front office believed a duo of Westbrook and Harden could help Houston get to the NBA Finals as the Harden-Chris Paul pairing started to fall apart.

After one season's worth of evidence, that turned out to be incorrect. After spending a season with the Rockets, Westbrook was already asking for a ticket out. With few suitors lining up for his services, the veteran guard landed with the Washington Wizards after he waited patiently for a change.

Westbrook's lone season in Washington went well from a personal standpoint. He averaged 22 points per game and dished a career-high of 11.7 assists in 65 games. Willing the Wizards to a spot in the playoffs, Westbrook and his co-star Bradley Beal did all they could to get Washington the eighth seed. However, once they got to the playoffs, they fell short to the Philadelphia 76ers, losing four out of five games.

Westbrook, who endorsed Washington head coach Scott Brooks, wanted to run it back in 2021-2022. However, Brooks and the Wizards couldn't agree to a new contract. Therefore, the Wizards are starting a new era with a new head coach.

Will a 32-year-old Westbrook, who has yet to win an NBA title, want to stick around and see it through with a rookie running the show? It's unclear. However, according to Marc Spears of The Undefeated, the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in potentially bringing the veteran guard back out West to add to their list of stars.

"There have also been talks about Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook being a potential candidate to move back home to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade deal that could include free agent point guard Dennis Schroder, forward Kyle Kuzma, and guard Talen Horton-Tucker, sources said."

At this point in his career, Westbrook isn't of the same caliber as he was in OKC, but that won't prevent teams from having an interest in him. Having Westbrook as a third option in Los Angeles would surely help the Lakers out for next season. The question is; are the Wizards going to be happy with parting ways with their leader for younger but less-proven talents? Soon, we could find out.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.