En normal circumstances, a nine-time All-Star, twice top scorer and once MVP would have a very high value in the transfer market. In the case of Russell Westbrook, holder of all those awards, his cache is low. According to Michael Scotto, de HoopsHype the Lakers are going to have real trouble moving their disgruntled star. Some NBA executives They even question that any team is going to accept a change for him. .
“When you look at the option Westbrook has to make $47 million a year if he stays with the Lakers, no other team will pay him that or anything even close. I asked some NBA executives what they now thought of the commercial value of Westbrook. one told me that “Most teams will continue to see Westbrook as a negative asset.but some might be willing to take a bad year to lose three years of money in the future.”
Extremely negative trade value
Another executive consulted by Scotto was more blunt: “At this moment, its commercial value is extremely negative. However, all it takes is for a team to be desperate for talent and have bad contracts for this to happen. The truth is that 95% of teams see it as a terrible contract right now. They don’t think about that unless they’re shedding a lot of stuff.”
95% of teams see it as a terrible contract right now
Westbrook, 33, has perpetrated the worst season of his career. After averaging a triple-double in Washington, he accumulated 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists with only 29.8% success in the triples. He fit very poorly into the Lakers squad and now could move to his fifth team in five seasons.
If the Lakers could have, they would have traded it before the February deadline. But they couldn’t do it and he probably has to play there for another season. If that happens, the Lakers will have no choice but to try to integrate him if they want to be competitive again, something that today seems like an impossible mission.