Today four years ago: The Lakers get Westbrook through big deal

Four years ago today, the Lakers sent Kuzma, Harrell, Pope, the 22nd first round pick and two second round picks, and exchanged Russell Westbrook from the Wizards.

Things go back to the 2020-21 season. As the park champion, the Lakers were originally determined to defend their title, but the team experienced several waves of injuries. In the end, they lost to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs, and were eliminated early. Lakers general manager Pelinka decided to use a heavy trade to regain their momentum. According to media reports, the Lakers originally planned to trade the Kings Hilde, but suddenly turned to Westbrook.

At that time, Westbrook had just played an amazing season in the Wizards. He averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists in the 2020-21 season, completing his fourth triple-double average season in his career, and also helped the Wizards successfully enter the playoffs.

That offseason, James and Anthony Davis met Westbrook, and the three discussed the possibility of joining forces, and said that they would adjust their playing style for each other. The Lakers' management was also optimistic about Westbrook and believed that he could carry the team when James and Eyebrow were absent. Therefore, the Lakers made a quick decision and made a big deal to get Westbrook, forming a three-part combination of James, Eyebrow and Westbrook. In addition, they also introduced powerful players such as Anthony, Howard, Rondo, and Monk, and they became the biggest favorites in the championship in the new season.

However, in the 2021-22 season, there was no tacit understanding between Westbrook and James and Davis, and the latter still suffered from injuries in the new season. Westbrook led the team alone and failed to replicate his previous brave performance. His shooting and mistakes were controversial. Even Lakers fans began to boo him, which affected Westbrook's psychological state and also led to his increasingly struggling performance on the court. Although James almost became the scoring leader in 30.3 points per game that season, the Lakers still failed to make the playoffs and did not even enter the playoffs. The Lakers became the laughing stock of the entire league.

In the 2022-23 season, Westbrook was even transferred to the bench, but the Lakers' situation still did not improve, and fans' criticism of Westbrook became more and more serious. Finally, before the trading deadline, the Lakers sent Westbrook to the Jazz through a three-party trade in exchange for Russell, Vanderbilt and Beasley. The highly-watched three-big combination disintegrated. The most ironic thing is that after the Lakers traded Westbrook, their record soared, and they finally made it to the playoffs and won two rounds in a row to reach the Western Conference Finals. This ending is truly regrettable.

Looking back on Westbrook's Lakers career, he played in a total of 130 games, including 81 starts, and averaged 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1 steal during this game, with a shooting percentage of 43.4%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 29.7%.