It took only a few months for Russell Westbrook to be linked with a trade out of Los Angeles. His first season with the Lakers has been, to put it lightly, a huge disappointment. Far from helping the team fight for the title, he was made the scapegoat for its problems.
Many expected Brodie to be on his way out this offseason, but the months have passed and he’s still part of the Lakersroster. Head coach Darvin Ham and the front office have publicly supported Westbrook, yet he continued to be subject of trade rumors.
The 2022-23 NBA season gets underway in October, and if there’s a thing we know about the league is that anything can happen before then. According to a report, the Lakers could still have a trade suitor for Westbrook.
NBA Trade Rumors: There are ongoingtalks between Lakers, Jazz
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, the Utah Jazz are in talks with the Los Angeles Lakers over a potential trade. “The Jazz are currently at 17 players, which means the roster will have to be trimmed by at least two by some point before the beginning of the regular season. And the front office isn’t done taking trade calls,” Jones wrote.
“League sources indicate a market for Bogdanovic at the very least, of which there is significant interest for the 6-foot-8 shooting forward. But, the Jazz at this point don’t appear to be particularly close to a trade that could land them even more assets and consolidate the roster, although there are ongoing talks with the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Though the players who could be involved in the deal were not mentioned, there were reports that linked Westbrook to Utah in return for Bojan Bogdanovic. However, the Lakers would also have to include draft picks to make it happen.