Quoting part of the piece:
So by the morning of the NBA Draft on July 29, with seemingly no trade for Westbrook available, Rob Pelinka, the Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, appeared to have no choice but to move on. The Lakers’ brass had spent considerable time on a backup plan to net Sacramento’s 28-year-old marksman Buddy Hield. He addressed the team’s shooting needs if not exactly their thirst for another star.
That day, a telltale moment occurred: Westbrook received a tip. Not only could the Lakers not break through with the Wizards, but also they were on the cusp of trading Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell — players whose salaries would be required to execute a Westbrook trade — to the Kings for Hield.
“That set Russ off,” one source said. “All he wanted, by any means, was to be a Laker.”
Westbrook had been telling those around him for weeks that he was finally coming home, but now those dreams seemed to be slipping away. So shortly before noon on July 29, he asked his billionaire boss, Ted Leonsis, for a personal favor: Find a way for him to land with the Lakers. That passionate plea set off a chain of events that resulted in the Lakers assembling one of the most star-laden and veteran teams in league history.
“(Westbrook) took control of his situation,” one involved source said.
Keep in mind that two years ago, Westbrook missed out on going to the Clippers when, as sources confirmed, Leonard turned Westbrook’s desire to team up into a chance to partner instead with Paul George, Westbrook’s teammate with the Thunder. Westbook wasn’t about to lose out in this game of LA musical chairs — again.
And before Westbrook resorted to calling Leonsis, he had tried to convince Beal in the weeks leading up to the draft that they should both ask out of Washington, according to sources. Short of Beal showing a desire to also request a trade, Westbrook was hopeful Beal would at least support his efforts to get to L.A. — which, sources said, Beal did.
Even in this modern-day era of player empowerment, conversations about possible player movement are typically contained to the front office level. Unless, that is, the player doing the pushing isn’t getting what he so badly wants. And Westbrook, well aware that he was on the verge of missing his window, played his trump card.
The Wizards softened their stance and Washington GM Tommy Sheppard called Pelinka to initiate conversations. Within hours, the Lakers had scrapped their talks for Hield and instead traded Kuzma, Harrell and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, along with the No. 22 pick in that night’s draft, to the Wizards for Westbrook. As is the case with any superstar trade, both sides needed to feel strongly about coming to terms, and this deal accomplished goals for both parties. The Wizards were able to move Westbrook’s deal a year after trading away John Wall to bring Westbrook in, and acquired three rotation players who provide short- and long-term flexibility for the franchise.
Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Leonsis hopped on the phone to finalize the deal at the highest levels, with both sharing their view of the players in the deal and how it was seen as a win-win for both sides.
The Lakers had their third star and a childhood dream was fulfilled.
It came, however, at the cost of another superstar’s own homecoming dream and his quest to join the Lakers.
LeBron James purchased his nearly 16,000-square-foot home in the ritzy Westside neighborhood of Brentwood for about $21 million in 2017. Since then, the eight-bedroom mansion with a wine cellar and mahogany cigar lounge in the basement has become a casual command center for many of his business ventures. That was the setting as free agency loomed.
It’s easy to envision James, who produces an HBO series dedicated to sitting around and literally talking shop, surrounded by his closest confidantes as they swirled vino and puffed stogies, like they often do on “The Shop,” deliberating what moves could catapult the Lakers back to the top of the league.
One of those potential moves involved DeMar DeRozan, a Compton, Calif., native and former USC star. He took part in two such meetings at James’ home and had separate ongoing phone conversations with James. His conversations with the Lakers co-stars had gone well, with the then-soon-to-be free agent discussing all the ways in which he thought this new star trio might work.
With four All-Star Games and a pair of appearances on All-NBA teams to his name, the longtime Toronto Raptor who had spent the previous three seasons with San Antonio, emerged from his meetings with that locker room brain trust believing he was their priority and he might soon be playing in the purple and gold.
And why not? He had averaged at least 21 points per game in each of the last six seasons and would give the Lakers another go-to scorer.
Yet as the process unfolded, concerns emerged from DeRozan’s side about a perceived disconnect between the Lakers stars and the front office. Were the opinions being shared in the player meetings the same as the front office’s view? Did the left hand know, in essence, what the right hand was doing?
Pelinka has often said he includes James and Davis when it comes to building the roster, asking them the pros and cons of any potential additions and how they feel about the fit. This summer was no different. Whatever conversations James and Davis had when they encountered other players, they did on their own time and interest.
So nearly two years after James had been the driving force in the Davis trade, he was now pairing with AD as a team of power brokers as they evaluated the possible additions. Dudley’s presence was notable, especially considering the reaction his departure from the team would spark soon after. Dudley offered an acute understanding of the business side of the game, although some sources close to the situation downplayed the impact of his involvement. Throughout James’ career, he has gravitated toward veteran players like Dudley and developed close relationships with them as part of his trusted circle of friends.
The group focused first on Lillard and Beal, but with no viable path to trading for either of them, turned their attention to more realistic targets: Westbrook, DeRozan, Hield and Kyle Lowry, who would eventually pursue a deal with the Miami Heat instead.
There was genuine excitement shared in the player meetings about how DeRozan would fit. Even if he wasn’t the Lakers’ first choice, it was easy to envision a scenario where he would be their best available option.
For the Lakers, according to those with knowledge of the situation, it was imperative to keep as many potential avenues open as possible.
Sources said Pelinka and his front-office group strongly considered executing a sign-and-trade for the 32-year-old DeRozan, giving up Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope in the process, but couldn’t come to consensus terms with the Spurs in free agency or a suitable contract number for DeRozan. What’s more, sources say the DeRozan option never advanced to the point that it was presented to Buss.
While she has long since empowered Pelinka to be the final front office decision maker, the impact of her family’s legacy remains strong. And the Westbrook deal, quite clearly, was seen as the kind of move that would make her late father, legendary Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, smile. If only they could get it over the finish line.
Hield could be had for less: Just the salaries of Kuzma and Harrell were needed to make that deal work. The Lakers could add a career 40 percent 3-point shooter while still retaining the first-round pick as well as Caldwell-Pope, their starting shooting guard and a highly rated defender. The internal debate, it seems, went round and round.
But before Westbrook went to Leonsis, Pelinka had locked in on that deal over pursuing a sign-and-trade for DeRozan, and prompted him to look elsewhere. Plan C, if you will, was unofficially off the table. (DeRozan ultimately landed with the Chicago Bulls on a massive three-year, $85 million deal in a sign-and-trade agreement.)
Once Westbrook persuaded the Wizards to engage with L.A., the Lakers made a choice to back off of the Hield option, too. Even if Hield was a more natural fit for their structure, the Lakers believed Westbrook made them a more dangerous team in the postseason.
It was, in essence, the decision between a player they believed could be the difference-maker in a 16-game title run vs. one whose talents had only been utilized in the regular season.
The decision left Sacramento management steaming, sources said. The Kings had no idea they were even competing with a Westbrook deal, and they weren’t the only ones stunned by the reversal. “I was kind of shocked because I thought I was going to Sac,” Kuzma recently said on the “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas” podcast. “The Sacramento deal, with Buddy Hield, that shyt was done.”
