Who is a better fit for the Los Angeles Lakers: Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook?
The NBA is returning to a normal, 82-game regular season that runs from October 2021 to April 2022.
That means this offseason will be condensed, yet again, although not quite as much as last year's offseason was.
With a curtailed break, there's little time to dwell on 2020-21, especially with the draft on July 29 and free agency starting on August 1.
One of the big questions heading into the offseason is: What will LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, winners of the 2019-20 championship, do to try and get back to the promised land?
The Lakers flamed out in the first round of the playoffs this season, falling to Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns as the purple and orange pushed their way to the Finals, where they eventually lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated wrote that the Lakers are "on the hunt for a veteran point guard," and that Paul is on the list.
Could there be an element of "if you can't beat ‘em, recruit ’em" at play here?
After all, James was on hand to watch Game 5 of the Finals in Phoenix, though CP3's team lost that game 123-119.
Washington Wizards standout Russell Westbrook is also mentioned in Spears' article, leaving folks to ponder those two high-profile options.
Who would be a better fit alongside James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles?
Despite a high opinion of Westbrook, Skip Bayless of "Undisputed" said he doesn't see the 32-year-old star jelling with the Lakers' dynamic duo.
"Russell Westbrook — lock, first-ballot Hall of Famer, right? — is a bad fit for LeBron James and Anthony Davis," Bayless said. "And he just is. … Oftentimes, he manages to sacrifice winning the basketball game for getting his stats. And he is the all-time stat machine."
Skip Bayless: Russell Westbrook is a bad fit for LeBron & AD because he's not a true point guard I UNDISPUTED
Indeed, Westbrook is a stat machine.
In four of the past five seasons, Westbrook has averaged a triple-double for the season. Most recently with the Wizards, he posted regular-season numbers of 22.2 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds per game.
HIs league-leading 38 triple-doubles were 22 more than the next-closest player this past season, Nikola Jokić.
His 11.7 APG in 2020-21 led the league, a distinction he's held in three of the past four seasons.
Those kinds of numbers are why ESPN's Kendrick Perkins said he believes the Lakers would be better off with Westbrook, rather than Paul.
"We're talking about a guy that is still in his prime," Perkins said of Westbrook. "… You put the Brodie back home. It takes pressure off LeBron James, who's getting up in age going into year 19. And now you have Russell Westbrook, a guy that you can pair with Anthony Davis, a guy that's going to take pressure off of them, a guy that doesn't get enough credit for making others around him better."
Nick Wright, however, couldn't be less sold on Westbrook-to-LA.
The "First Things First" co-host broke down a list of players he'd rather LeBron and the Lakers pursue ahead of Westbrook on Thursday, with Paul at the top.
"In a league where shooting has never matter more, adding a non-shooting point guard to go along with LeBron and AD doesn't make any sense at all," Wright said. "… There's a lot of guys I think … would be better for the Lakers than Russ."
True, as a 30.5% shooter from deep this past season, Westbrook's shooting leaves something to be desired.
Westbrook made 54.5% of his shot attempts up to 10 feet away from the rim in 2020-21. But at 10 feet and beyond, that number dropped to 35.6%.
As his shot chart from 2020-21 makes clear, his efficiency from beyond the arc fell well below the league average.
If Paul is the preferred option, what will it take to get him to Los Angeles?
The 36-year-old point guard averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds for the season, shooting 49.9% from the field and 39.5% from distance.
He's sitting on a $44.2 million player option for the upcoming season, which he can decline if he wishes to become an unrestricted free agent. Or, he could ask the Suns for a sign-and-trade if he wants to cash in on another contract but switch venues to play for the Lakers.
As Chris Broussard pointed out, Paul might be the better choice, but he might not be vibing with the idea of leaving Phoenix.
"This isn't even close for me. It's Chris Paul." Broussard said. "… The thing is: It's pretty unrealistic. Not impossible, but Chris would have to take a big-time pay cut because I don't see the Suns doing a sign-and-trade for what the Lakers pieces are. … I don't think it happens, but I would like to see it."
Chris Broussard on whether Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook would be a better fit with Lakers I FIRST THINGS FIRST
Things certainly have a way of moving fast in the NBA, especially with next season's tipoff roughly three months away.
Will we see a new face lining up at point guard alongside LeBron when that day comes?
We might find out sooner rather than later.
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