The Lakers aren’t really considering bringing Russell Westbrook back, are they?
The Lakers don’t have many great options this offseason, but bringing Russell Westbrook back feels like the worst of all of them.
On the heels of a disastrous season, the Lakers will likely head into the summer with a lofty to-do list. Beyond the necessary hiring of a new head coach and yet another reconstruction of a roster, how the Lakers navigate the placement — or lack thereof — of Russell Westbrook on the floor next year feels paramount.
After yielding mixed-to-poor results at best, the most likely scenario heading into the offseason was a splintering between both parties. However, due to the exorbitant money left remaining on Westbrook’s deal (after he presumably picks up his $47 million player option) and the team’s reported rigidness with departing with any of their future draft capital, a return is not entirely out of the equation. An outcome, that if recent rumblings are to be believed, is one that may be picking up steam.
On Monday, Sam Amick of the Athletic reported that during the team’s initial round of head- coaching interviews, candidates have been asked how they would utilize Westbrook in their system. Amick also added that “the takeaway” for candidates, is that maximizing Westbrook is considered to be an important part of this job.
Whether or not the report was a potential leverage play from the team in order to downplay the team’s desire/desperation to move off the point guard, or if a sequel to the Westbrook experience is in the cards remains to be seen. However, every scenario still feels like one that fans should embrace themselves for — which brings us to today’s episode.
On this week’s edition of Talk-O-Tuesday, our hosts Alex Padilla and Alex Regla discussed the aforementioned recent reporting on Westbrook’s future with the Lakers, and the potential agendas behind a piece of sourced information like this.
The duo also covered the latest on the head-coaching search thus far and how explained how both Westbrook’s future and the new hiring will likely interweave as the offseason looms.
You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.
And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.