Lakers source: "No light at the end of the tunnel" for 'untradeable' Westbrook. "Has to figure it out."

[Kilroy]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/265571/Lakers-Source-Russell-Westbrook-Figuring-It-Out-Is-The-Only-Option

"It's not like [Westbrook's] a tradable player where if it's not working out you just move on; everybody in the NBA knows that," one team source said. "So it's got to work. This is the only option. There is no Plan B for this season."

As one Lakers insider said, "There is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Rob Pelinka met with Westbrook for nearly two hours when the Lakers landed in Orlando on Thursday.

Frank Vogel too has met individually with Westbrook several times throughout the season to try to find ways to help him feel more comfortable and succeed on the court, according to team sources.

James and Davis speak to him regularly, as well.

"Constantly," one team source said. "They're talking to Russ constantly."

So yeah... Basically just stating the obvious and what everyone knows, but what strikes me about this is how weird it all seems to have all these 'leaks' about Westbrook...
Either the wheels have completely come off the front office of the Lakers, or they tried everything they can think of to trade Westbrook, and struck out miserably, and want everyone to know whatever happens now, is on Russell Westbrook, not Rob Pelinka...

[Kilroy]

Follow-up question for the Lakers... "What does 'Figure it out' even look like?"

What changes can Westbrook even make, to make it work? Play lock down defense and shoot 3s reliably? So, basically the only way for Westbrook to 'figure it out' is to figure out how not to be Russell Westbrook?

So the FO made a monumental, Franchise-Altering mistake, that everyone saw coming a mile away, but somehow, that's not on them, it's on the player they traded all useful assets for, to 'figure it out.'

I guess I kind of answered my own question... The wheels have completely come off the Lakers Front Office...

[Kilroy]

I guess I kind of answered my own question... The wheels have completely come off the Lakers Front Office...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/lakers-stars-pressured-rob-pelinka-into-trading-for-russell-westbrook-instead-of-buddy-hield/ar-AATbgdC?li=BBnbfcL

So pretty much... Yep...

If you assume Pelinka's feeling the heat... And if you accept that he is not above leaking a story or 2 to the media to point the heat away from him... Then it sure seems like things are about to go boom in Laker land...

What a difference a day makes...

[Landsberger]

From a fringe site.... but interesting none the less.

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/a-3-team-mega-deal-that-would-change-nba-landscape-ben-simmon-and-john-collins-to-lakers-anthony-davis-to-hawks-russell-westbrook-to-76ers

Essentially Collins from ATL and Simmons from the Sixers for Davis and Westbrook. Out, injured guy and Westbrook.... IN youth and efficient scoring with intangibles.

[gordonyao]

easiest improvement for WB is to take good care of the ball, and to attack the paint / take uncontested 2
to do that he needs to slow down a bit and think before acting

[SlimShady83]

I love Westbrook always have, always will kind of like I did like Rondo even b4 all you saw playoff Rondo.

I agree his not the best fit and we/Lakers could have done better.

Westbrook has mentioned his willing to do what ever it takes to help the team, I think he loves LA and wants to stay

I wonder if he would be willing to take a pay cut from his BIG FAT CHECK ... And IF he would, how much would you guys think is a decent amount? - being realistic of course.

On the bright side his no longer doing 9 TO's a game.

[NatiboyB]

I love Westbrook always have, always will kind of like I did like Rondo even b4 all you saw playoff Rondo.

I agree his not the best fit and we/Lakers could have done better.

Westbrook has mentioned his willing to do what ever it takes to help the team, I think he loves LA and wants to stay

I wonder if he would be willing to take a pay cut from his BIG FAT CHECK ... And IF he would, how much would you guys think is a decent amount? - being realistic of course.

On the bright side his no longer doing 9 TO's a game.

They don’t do pay cuts and naturally when it’s time for him to resign it will likely be for less but he has a few seasons on his current deal. And pay cut wouldn’t be of use to the Lakers salary cap as far an acquiring additional players.

[SaveTheHens]

Follow-up question for the Lakers... "What does 'Figure it out' even look like?"

What changes can Westbrook even make, to make it work? Play lock down defense and shoot 3s reliably? So, basically the only way for Westbrook to 'figure it out' is to figure out how not to be Russell Westbrook?

So the FO made a monumental, Franchise-Altering mistake, that everyone saw coming a mile away, but somehow, that's not on them, it's on the player they traded all useful assets for, to 'figure it out.'

I guess I kind of answered my own question... The wheels have completely come off the Lakers Front Office...

Westbrook "figuring it out" imo does come down to not being Russ anymore... but in a psychological sense. He can't be whiny that he's not getting the ball, he can't be demanding the ball at the end of games, he needs to learn to submit to the bigger dogs around him and take a fresh look that this situation makes him look like a team cancer, and the only way to save his own ego is to reduce it, at least for this season. Lakers are still stacked, Russ needs to not be such an emotional drag on the rest of the team with his antics, but again that's tough on someone with a huge ego.

The Lakers mess I think comes on more than just ownership. I get that ownership shouldn't be dilly dallying to Lebron's wants but at the end of the day LeGM probably has a lot of responsibility here too and had the Lakers management worked without LBJ's influence they may have went along with the Hield deal instead of putting themselves in this position.
John Wall may be a better fit but only if mentally he's ready to 'submit' and allow himself to help where he can instead of trying to keep throw up meaningless numbers & lose games.

[euphorbus]

easiest improvement for WB is to take good care of the ball, and to attack the paint / take uncontested 2
to do that he needs to slow down a bit and think before acting.

Up until the Brooklyn game, Westbrook had no more than three turnovers for nine straight games. I think he is "figuring it out." The coaching staff is also trying to pair him with another ballhandler (besides James), such as Horton-Tucker or Monk. The latter approach has paid dividends, because a lot of times in the past three games, the ball has really started to move.

As for shooting, the front office tried to surround the Big Three with shooters (whether they succeeded is another matter). But Russell is still, over the past ten games, taking a minimum of twelve shots per game. That is too many. Especially, over the past twelve games, he has not made a three-point shot in nine of them. He needs to stop shooting threes! Or, to put it another way, the coaching staff has to tell him not to shoot threes...

One item accomplished, one item still to go...

[Mamba Mentality]

I hate Russ as much as anyone on this board, but I still feel like this season can be salvaged if he plays to his strengths...getting to the rim and finishing, kicking out to open shooters, and rebounding. Between AD, LeBron, Bradley, and Stanley I think we have enough to hide him defensively. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks especially someone as stubborn as Russ, but he has nearly cut his turnovers in half this month so maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of the day this team will go as far as Lebron and AD takes them, every Laker fan knows that. IF, and this is a big IF, AD can get back into 2019-20 form this team is going to be a tough out in a 7 game series regardless of Russ and the other glaring flaws of this roster.

[Mamba Mentality]

Feels gross giving Russ a slight vote of confidence.

[Kilroy]

To me the biggest story in all of this isn't Westbrook or his fit or relative lack thereof...
It's that after years of being almost completely close-mouthed, in a day, the Lakers start leaking like a sieve to the media... The fact that it's about Westbrook is entirely unsurprising, but at the same time, the fact that it's gotten this bad, is a huge sign that they aren't as smart as they thought they were in all this and the fingers are starting to point... Hard.

I don't know if Westbrook will "Figure it out" or not... I still don't know what that even looks like, and I also don't think it makes any kind of sense that it's all on Westbrook to figure out... Don't LeBron and AD need to figure it out too?

And let's be 100% accurate in all this, also, Westbrook isn't the main reason this team is in the situation it's in this season, it's actually AD... Even before he went down with his injury... In fact going back to the start of last season, he's been playing passive and not playing anywhere near like a top Big Man in the league...

IMO, Westbrook "Figuring it out" is actually AD playing at superstar levels again...

But in the meantime, the wheels are coming off... We're about to panic-trade more young talent for mediocre players... We may loose Frank V in the process and replace him with Fizdale... And who knows what happens in the FO... But it kind of feels like we're back where we were 4 years ago.

[TheHartBreakKid]

To me the biggest story in all of this isn't Westbrook or his fit or relative lack thereof...
It's that after years of being almost completely close-mouthed, in a day, the Lakers start leaking like a sieve to the media... The fact that it's about Westbrook is entirely unsurprising, but at the same time, the fact that it's gotten this bad, is a huge sign that they aren't as smart as they thought they were in all this and the fingers are starting to point... Hard.

I don't know if Westbrook will "Figure it out" or not... I still don't know what that even looks like, and I also don't think it makes any kind of sense that it's all on Westbrook to figure out... Don't LeBron and AD need to figure it out too?

And let's be 100% accurate in all this, also, Westbrook isn't the main reason this team is in the situation it's in this season, it's actually AD... Even before he went down with his injury... In fact going back to the start of last season, he's been playing passive and not playing anywhere near like a top Big Man in the league...

IMO, Westbrook "Figuring it out" is actually AD playing at superstar levels again...

But in the meantime, the wheels are coming off... We're about to panic-trade more young talent for mediocre players... We may loose Frank V in the process and replace him with Fizdale... And who knows what happens in the FO... But it kind of feels like we're back where we were 4 years ago.

Do you believe that the Lakers are leaking this?

Maybe I'm still naively optimistic about this team but it's hard for me to imagine the Lakers leaking this. I think the bs John Wall rumor was leaked by Houston for multiple strategic reasons. After that, I think the media got a hold of it and it got bigger than it should have been.


Don't get me wrong, I fully understand how badly the FO right now is panicking, and how much they would love to undo the RW trade. But I still think they have enough competency from the business side to have a full on breakdown in order to get rid of him.

[BEazy]

Still have no hope with this guy as our starting PG. Waste of money and waste of roster space. This year and next year Lakers will not win the championship...

[John Murdoch]

Follow-up question for the Lakers... "What does 'Figure it out' even look like?"

What changes can Westbrook even make, to make it work? Play lock down defense and shoot 3s reliably? So, basically the only way for Westbrook to 'figure it out' is to figure out how not to be Russell Westbrook?

So the FO made a monumental, Franchise-Altering mistake, that everyone saw coming a mile away, but somehow, that's not on them, it's on the player they traded all useful assets for, to 'figure it out.'

I guess I kind of answered my own question... The wheels have completely come off the Lakers Front Office...

Once LeBron is done Rob needs to step down. His only out is wall and he would have to add a 1st lol . Then half of his vet min signings are unplayable on top of it . Then you have him pushing in his chips on Talen turning into some kind of lockdown defender instan conributer which has failed miserably...not too mention not dealing him for Kyle frigiin lowry . Just too many critical errors that cant allow him to keep his position

[Kilroy]

To me the biggest story in all of this isn't Westbrook or his fit or relative lack thereof...
It's that after years of being almost completely close-mouthed, in a day, the Lakers start leaking like a sieve to the media... The fact that it's about Westbrook is entirely unsurprising, but at the same time, the fact that it's gotten this bad, is a huge sign that they aren't as smart as they thought they were in all this and the fingers are starting to point... Hard.

I don't know if Westbrook will "Figure it out" or not... I still don't know what that even looks like, and I also don't think it makes any kind of sense that it's all on Westbrook to figure out... Don't LeBron and AD need to figure it out too?

And let's be 100% accurate in all this, also, Westbrook isn't the main reason this team is in the situation it's in this season, it's actually AD... Even before he went down with his injury... In fact going back to the start of last season, he's been playing passive and not playing anywhere near like a top Big Man in the league...

IMO, Westbrook "Figuring it out" is actually AD playing at superstar levels again...

But in the meantime, the wheels are coming off... We're about to panic-trade more young talent for mediocre players... We may loose Frank V in the process and replace him with Fizdale... And who knows what happens in the FO... But it kind of feels like we're back where we were 4 years ago.

Do you believe that the Lakers are leaking this?

I believe Rob Pelinka or one of his supporters in the org leaked it... Who does it benefit? Certainly not Westbrook... And not really any other teams either, unless there's a team out there trying to drive down our asking price for Westbrook... Which was hard to type without laughing and crying at the same time...

Like I said earlier, I think they've tried every conceivable option to trade Westbrook and struck out royally, so now, they need to control the narrative when the deadline passes without a significant improvement. And the narrative Pelinka's settled on is "It's all on Westbrook."

[madmaxmedia]

From a fringe site.... but interesting none the less.

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/a-3-team-mega-deal-that-would-change-nba-landscape-ben-simmon-and-john-collins-to-lakers-anthony-davis-to-hawks-russell-westbrook-to-76ers

Essentially Collins from ATL and Simmons from the Sixers for Davis and Westbrook. Out, injured guy and Westbrook.... IN youth and efficient scoring with intangibles.

So when you read this proposed trade to see what kind of alchemy they came up with...

1. Lakers get Simmons, Collins, and Seth Curry? Nice.
2. Wow, Hawks get AD and Tobias Harris.
3. Sixers get...shafted. Russell Westbrook and filler for Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, pretty much exact opposite of what Daryl Morey wants.

[Landsberger]

From a fringe site.... but interesting none the less.

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/a-3-team-mega-deal-that-would-change-nba-landscape-ben-simmon-and-john-collins-to-lakers-anthony-davis-to-hawks-russell-westbrook-to-76ers

Essentially Collins from ATL and Simmons from the Sixers for Davis and Westbrook. Out, injured guy and Westbrook.... IN youth and efficient scoring with intangibles.

So when you read this proposed trade to see what kind of alchemy they came up with...

1. Lakers get Simmons, Collins, and Seth Curry? Nice.
2. Wow, Hawks get AD and Tobias Harris.
3. Sixers get...shafted. Russell Westbrook and filler for Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, pretty much exact opposite of what Daryl Morey wants.

Yeah.... but why give him anything for a player who won't play for him? He's got no real leverage it would seem. Careful with the Wow for AD in Atl. He can sit out games there just like he does here and NO before that. I don't think he'll ever suit up for more than 55 games again. If we could get Collins with a late first rounder I'd do it.

[madmaxmedia]

From a fringe site.... but interesting none the less.

https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-trade-rumors/a-3-team-mega-deal-that-would-change-nba-landscape-ben-simmon-and-john-collins-to-lakers-anthony-davis-to-hawks-russell-westbrook-to-76ers

Essentially Collins from ATL and Simmons from the Sixers for Davis and Westbrook. Out, injured guy and Westbrook.... IN youth and efficient scoring with intangibles.

So when you read this proposed trade to see what kind of alchemy they came up with...

1. Lakers get Simmons, Collins, and Seth Curry? Nice.
2. Wow, Hawks get AD and Tobias Harris.
3. Sixers get...shafted. Russell Westbrook and filler for Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris, pretty much exact opposite of what Daryl Morey wants.

Yeah.... but why give him anything for a player who won't play for him? He's got no real leverage it would seem. Careful with the Wow for AD in Atl. He can sit out games there just like he does here and NO before that. I don't think he'll ever suit up for more than 55 games again. If we could get Collins with a late first rounder I'd do it.

For sure, there’s a wide gulf in terms of what Morey is reportedly asking for and what I think teams are offering for Simmons. But they get screwed in that 3-team scenario, which is why the other teams come out of it so well.

I think the Hawks come out really well in that trade because they’re getting both AD and Tobias Harris.

[chefy]

post him up more. let him put the other team's pg/star player in foul trouble.

we did this against the Suns when booker was guarding and it kinda worked.

he still needs to be involved and be a threat.