The Lakers desperately need to get rid of Russell Westbrook after a calamitous season in Los Angeles, but there’s one thing the team will not do as it tries to dump the All-Star guard.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers are wary of acquiring a player with an injury history just to move on from Westbrook. And because of that, Stein reports, they’re “unlikely to consent to a Charlotte trade headlined by Gordon Hayward.”
Stein previously mentioned the Hornets as a “team to watch” for a potential Westbrook trade. Westbrook, 33, has a $47 million player option for next season.
Hayward, 32, was limited to 49 games this season while averaging 15.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game after appearing in 44 games last season. He suffered a gruesome ankle injury in the 2017-18 season opener that cost him the rest of that season. Hayward has two years and $61.6 million remaining on his contract.
Westbrook averaged 18.5 points per game this season, the first time he was below an average of 21 since 2009-10, after the Lakers acquired him from the Wizards last offseason. The Lakers missed the playoffs and fired Frank Vogel, whom Westbrook took a shot at on the way out.
“I’m not sure what his issue was with me, or I’m not sure why. I can’t really give you an answer why we never really connected,” Westbrook said of Vogel last week. “That’s something that he has to answer… from the get-go, was feeling like I had to try and prove myself to him, and my capabilities and what I’ve been able to do for this game. It’s unfortunate, but it’s out of my hands.”