The Los Angeles Lakers continue to try and shop Russell Westbrook, but the market for an aging player who’s still owed $47 million next season is quite limited. That, plus the fact that they refuse to include draft compensation in any deal.
Westbrook’s tenure in Los Angeles has been a nightmare since day one. He was an odd fit next to their two stars, and reports state that he was difficult to deal with and refused to be held accountable by Frank Vogel.
Thats’ why NBA analyst Bill Simmons believes this could be the end of the line for the former MVP, and even though he’s still got some years left, he could be out of the league if he gets bought out.
NBA Rumors: Bill Simmons Predicts Russell Westbrook Will Be Out Of The League
“If that trade did happen…I think he’s out of the league,” Simmons said. “I’m not saying that in the Skip Bayless way. I just think he’s the rare kind of guy where if you’re a tanking team or a lottery team, why would you bring him in? All he’s gonna do is try to play 40 minutes a game and put up stats and make you more competitive.
“If you’re a playoff team, I can’t think of a playoff team that he would be additive to. He’s not gonna want to come off the bench,” he added.
Westbrook has bounced around the league over the past years and has refused to make adjustments for the sake of his team. So, this take isn’t that far off. However, it’s not like he can’t play or is too old.
If anything, multiple teams would and should be interested in Westbrook at a fair price. So, we expect his market to ramp up drastically as soon as he’s a free agent and eligible to sign a veteran-minimum deal.
