Back in 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers made one of the worst trades in franchise history. It set the team back for multiple seasons, proving to be a very costly mistake. That, of course, was the Russell Westbrook deal.
The Lakers sold out to form a big three featuring Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. They surrendered a plethora of depth, and even that year’s first-round pick, in the process.
The Washington Wizards have agreed to trade Russell Westbrook, 2024 second-round pick, 2028 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and No. 22 tonight, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 30, 2021
Rob Pelinka was surely hoping this trio would strike fear into the hearts of the league. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the only thing that was frightening about that combination of players was just how poorly they fit together. This type of mistake cannot be repeated in the 2025 offseason.
Westbrook trap easy to fall into, hard to dig yourself out of
The intention today will not be to slander Westbrook. Enough of that has been done over the years by the media in Los Angeles. However, it is important to identify just how poor the fit between the three stars was.
The lack of outside presence and limited off-ball value from the future Hall of Fame point guard made life extra difficult for James and Davis.
The frontcourt duo were forced to deal with poor spacing and would frequently find Westbrook’s defender sagging off and playing help defense, clogging up the paint, and forcing some extremely poor quality shots in the process. James and Davis really needed to labor for their offense.
The result in the win-loss column were so poor for the trio that eventually the Lakers were forced to cut their losses. Pelinka needed to use a first-round pick to get rid of the Westbrook contract and turn it into D’Angelo Russell and pieces.
Russell would have his own flameout in Los Angeles. However, this was certainly Pelinka making the most of a bad situation. One that the Lakers general manager was certainly responsible for in the first place.
Taking the three-star approach to building a roster is a rapidly aging model. The recent trend of NBA champions favors a well-rounded roster and rotation over having overwhelming star power near the top of the pecking order.
However, if Pelinka and his front office were to overlook the need for depth and still push for a Hollywood blockbuster, it needs to cast the right stars in those roles. Otherwise, the project will be doomed from the beginning.