Lakers News: Ex-Laker Thinks LeBron James Should Turn Over More Of L.A.'s Offense To Russell Westbrook?

Did he watch any Lakers games last year?

14-year former NBA small forward Matt Barnes, who served two years during the tail end of your Los Angeles Lakers' competitive Kobe Bryant/Pau Gasol era from 2010-2012, has emerged as an outspoken personality during his post-playing career. He co-hosts the All The Smoke podcast via Showtime, along with his fellow We Believe Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson.

During an appearance on Hall of Fame tight end-turned-Fox Sports broadcaster Shannon Sharpe's YouTube series "Club ShayShay," the 6'7" ex-swingman Barnes laid out his strategy for how the Lakers can optimize their priciest player, current starting point guard Russell Westbrook.

If you don't want to watch all 104 minutes of their conversation, here's what Barnes had to say during the pertinent snippet:

“I think [LeBron James] may have to take a small step back to allow Russ to be Russ... He’s always had the ball in his hands. So, we all know the Lakers are at their best when 'Bron has the ball in his hands, but I think that, what could happen is allow Russ to have the ball in his hands the first two-and-a-half quarters to really get a feel. Obviously, 'Bron’s going to have it sometimes there. [Anthony Davis] will have it sometimes there.. But, allowing Russ to get his rhythm, so by the time LeBron takes over at the middle of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, when he has the ball is his hands the majority of the time, Russ is already in rhythm.”

The best solution is equipping Westbrook with his own team, so that he can run the offense as long as he wants to. It may not end particularly well for said team, which would probably flame out in the play-in tournament or the first round of the playoffs. Taking a quick temperature check around the league, it seems more likely that a rival club will eventually allow L.A. to trade Westbrook into its salary cap space, in exchange for the Lakers' future first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2029. 

With an above-average veteran starting point guard back on the roster in Patrick Beverley, it would behoove Los Angeles to make a move sooner rather than later.

It feels strange to want to take the ball out of the hands of the team's best playmaker, James, to any significantly larger degree than L.A. already did in 2021-22. Staggering the duo's minutes to maximize Westbrook's time on the ball makes sense, but it certainly should not come at the expense of LBJ's contributions. Westbrook, who turns 34 later this month, has not developed much as an off-ball option to this advanced point in his career.