Lakers: Charlotte Hornets Named as Potential Russell Westbrook Trade Partner
A possible summer of wholesale changes is already making for an interesting spring for the Lakers. LA still has three regular season games remaining, but all of the attention is now on the future since the Lakers have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The biggest question is whether that future will include Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook did not fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That much is apparent, even with a 21 game sample size this past season.
It's been covered at length through this disappointing season, but cannot be understated: trading Westbrook and his $47M expiring contract at this point in his career is a significant challenge.
In a recent article on Substack.com, NBA reporter Marc Stein reports that multiple teams believe that the Charlotte Hornets could have interest in acquiring Westbrook.
"While Hornets owner Michael Jordan has long ranked as a Westbrook admirer, it's not yet clear if that would give such a trade concept more life. The scenario has nonetheless been mentioned by multiple rival teams in recent weeks and, if nothing else, illustrates the likelihood that the Lakers would largely be limited to trades in which they're the team taking on more long-term money if they want to move off Westbrook immediately."
Charlotte's main motivation for making the deal, as Stein adeptly explains, would be to ship out Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier to preserve cap space for contract extensions for LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
"All-Star guard LaMelo Ball is firmly ensconced as the Hornets' face of the franchise and on-the-ball star, but one scenario making the rounds is a belief that the Hornets could emerge with Westbrook interest in the name of creating some financial flexibility."
Both Hayward and Rozier have multiple years left on sizable contracts.
Rozier is owed roughly $24.3M per year for the next four seasons. According to Spotrac.com, the final year of his extension (2025-2026) is non-guaranteed.
Hayward has two years left on the four-year, $120M deal that was part of a sign-and-trade with Boston in November of 2020.
If the trade idea, or some iteration of it, comes to fruition, the Lakers would be exchanging one more year of Westbrook headache for a commitment to multiple years of a pair of players who may or may not be a more natural fit.
Mitch Kupchak, the former Lakers GM who now holds the same position with the Hornets, helping LA get out from underneath the Westbrook contract would also serve as an incredible plot twist in a dramatic and unsuccessful season.
