National Basketball Association

With Russell Westbrook trade, Lakers gamble star will fit in with LeBron, AD

Updated Jul. 30, 2021 2:52 a.m. ET

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

The Lakers did it.

On the day of the NBA Draft, they stole the show. Amid the sea of wide-eyed young men wearing sparkly suits, they upstaged everyone with the most glitz.

The Lakers agreed to a deal to acquire Russell Westbrook on Thursday, a splashy move that instantly turns the 17-time champions into contenders for title No. 18, shifting the power dynamic of the league.

They no longer just have a Big Two and a hope that someone will turn into a reliable third option. Now the Lakers have a legitimate Big Three: LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook.

That type of talent can rival any team in the league. But talent doesn't always win championships. Just ask the Big Three across the coast in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, who are licking their wounds after Brooklyn's second-round playoff exit amid a slew of injuries and unanswered questions over whether they truly can co-exist.

This is definitely an interesting move for the Lakers.

And it's either going to be celebrated as pure genius or castigated as utter stupidity.

There are two reasons it will distinctly slide into one of those two polarizing categories.

The Lakers desperately needed 3-point shooting. They were 21st from beyond the arc last season. The 32-year-old Westbrook is not much help there. He only made 31.5% of his shots from that distance last season.

Second, there's the question of chemistry.

James and Davis are on the same page, so much so that James makes fun of Davis' unibrow and Davis teases James about his age. They're true brothers. They go over to each other's homes for dinners and have a palpable affection for one another that spills onto the court.

Westbrook, meanwhile, is known for being hot-headed and stubborn. This will be his fourth team in four seasons. He has failed to truly gel anywhere he has been, including when he played alongside Durant and Harden in Oklahoma City, Harden again in Houston and Bradley Beal in Washington.

To acquire Westbrook from the Wizards, the Lakers gave up Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and their No. 22 pick in Thursday's draft, according to multiple reports. The Lakers also received 2024 and 2028 second-round picks from Washington in the deal.

The Lakers needed to do something big – but they could've done something slightly less risky, such as going after San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan or Toronto's Kyle Lowry in free agency. Instead, they're laying it all on the line.

But that's what they do. That's why they've been successful. They put their chips on the table and hold their breath, a tradition started by their late legendary owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, and continued by his daughter, Jeanie, who took over as the franchise's governor.

In 2019, when the Lakers traded Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and multiple first-round picks to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Davis, many wondered whether they gave up too much young talent for a player that's injury-prone.

The Lakers responded by winning a championship in 2020.

Again, they're rolling the dice. This time, in the sense that they've hamstrung themselves with salary obligations – Westbrook is set to make $44.2 million next season and James and Davis are both signed to maximum contracts. The Lakers have limited options to mitigate potential concerns with free-agent signings.

Instead, they're betting on themselves.

They believe Westbrook is going to infuse the Lakers with the energy and options they lacked last season when both James and Davis struggled with injuries, missing a combined 63 games, and the team's supporting cast was woefully inconsistent.

Similar to James, Westbrook is a guy who can put his team on his shoulders, whizzing around and through defenses with sheer grit and unparalleled basketball IQ.

This could really be a thing of beauty.

Or a total disaster.

Can Westbrook put his ego aside? Can James defer and let someone truly take over ball-handling duties? Is Davis willing to play center more often than he'd like?

The Lakers desperately needed a third option, a role that neither Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope nor Harrell could fill. Westbrook is arguably a better player than the three of them combined, a triple-double machine who averaged 22.2 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds for the Wizards last season.

He's explosive. He's going to open up the court for James and Davis. He's a skilled playmaker.

But is he willing to be the third option?

Surely, Westbrook is going to want to make this work. The nine-time All-Star and 2017 MVP would like to slam the brakes on being a journeyman and put down roots in Southern California, where he attended Leuzinger High in Lawndale and starred at UCLA from 2006-2008.

In a sense, this is exactly what all parties need, a symbiotic relationship that could benefit everyone.

Westbrook has never won a championship – and James and Davis are proven winners.

Conversely, the Lakers stars need an explosive and athletic star, considering James will be turning 37 and playing in his 19th season, and Davis can't be expected to carry the entire load if James ever finally agrees to rest.

Westbrook could be the perfect answer to the Lakers' puzzle, a dizzyingly talented player who has won the scoring title twice and led the league in assists three times. He's a magician from nearly everywhere on the court, who is gritty, tough and plays with heart.

On paper, this was a genius move. It could blast the Lakers atop the league. It could make them unstoppable.

But we all know that sometimes things that appear great on paper fall short in reality.

The Lakers took a gamble.

And this one will likely either win them the jackpot or leave them empty-handed and filled with regret.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She has previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.