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The Lakers had a chance to move on from their Russell Westbrook problem at the NBA trade deadline.
However, Los Angeles opted not trade the former MVP to the Rockets for John Wall. Lakers GM Rob Pelinka balked at adding a 2027 first-round NBA Draft pick and the deal disintegrated from there, according to Yahoo Sports.
Westbrook’s fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis is threatening to ruin the season for the 26-30 Lakers.
It it tough to say whether Wall would be a solution. The oft-injured point guard has not played at all this season for the rebuilding Rockets. Wall is currently healthy, but the team and player initially agreed to sit him out seemingly to avoid risking injury and eventually trade him.
With that not happening, at least yet, Wall’s future with the Rockets is uncertain. Both he and Westbrook — who were already traded for each other once before last season — have one year and $47 million left on their contracts.
Westbrook’s frustration boiled over after Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Bucks when he vented over Lakers coach Frank Vogel’s rotations. Westbrook has been benched at the end of some tight games, including the entire overtime in Saturday’s win over the Knicks.
“You never know when you’re coming in, you never know when you’re coming out. You never know when you’re playing, you never know… a bunch of things,” Westbrook said.
“And I’m speaking for me personally, so it’s a difficult process to be able to figure out and create some rhythm and some consistency where we can actually see what we’re able to do as a team, but those decisions are made by him and his coaching staff, and you’ve got to live with it and move on.”
The Lakers currently sit at No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, which would force them to go through the play-in games to reach the playoffs.
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