The NBA's 2022 ironman, Russell Westbrook--who led the league in minutes played while not missing a single game heading into Wednesday night's action--did not play in the L.A. Lakers' game versus the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers announced that Westbrook is dealing with a back problem, which may at least partially explain Westbrook's recent struggles; he never complains about injuries, nor does he make excuses, so we will probably never know for sure.
Based on the commentary that intelligent basketball fans have suffered through during this season, one might expect that the Lakers--without Westbrook and facing a lousy Portland team sans the injured Damian Lillard and the recently-traded C.J. McCollum--would win by 20 or 30 points. In the immortal words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!" LeBron James is now 30 points closer to setting the all-time career scoring record but he also had a team-worst -5 plus/minus number as the Lakers lost 107-105. After the Lakers' previous loss, James flatly declared that the Lakers are not at the same level as the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks and are not capable of reaching that level as currently constructed. That is an interesting indictment of the roster built by the Lakers' de facto general manager: LeBron James.
Rumors are swirling that the Lakers feel like they have to trade Westbrook to salvage their season, to which I respond: Please, please, please trade Westbrook! The Lakers have misused Westbrook all season. He has led the league in assists three times and he averaged a triple double in four of the past five seasons, but the Lakers insist on having James monopolize the ball while Westbrook stays out of the way of James' pursuit of the all-time scoring record. We hear so much about James' ability to play all five positions, and his willingness to do whatever it takes for his teammates to shine and his team to win. Here's a novel thought: maybe the 6-9, 250 pound James should play power forward, the 7-0 Anthony Davis should play center, and Westbrook--the all-time triple double leader--should be the primary ballhandler. Are we supposed to believe that Westbrook--who just last season carried the Washington Wheeze-hards (I mean, Wizards) to the playoffs with Bradley Beal and not much else--cannot successfully choreograph an offense with two top 75 big men controlling the paint and running the floor? Westbrook is not the problem. One problem is that Davis has spent the whole season either tripping over himself and getting hurt, or else wandering around in a stupor, while James is conserving his energy on defense so that he can get his 25+ points every night. Another problem is that even though James' formidable skills have not declined much, his body clearly has; James has missed more games in his less than four seasons as a Laker than he missed in his first 15 seasons, and he clearly understands that he is in a race against time to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list before his body gives out. James' NBA level talent may last into his 40s, but his body's ability to stay healthy--and to recover from game to game--is in obvious and rapid decline.
I have the perfect trade for the Lakers: send Westbrook to Brooklyn for James Harden. James, Davis, and Harden are the "I don't want to be here" All-Stars, so throw them on the same team together and make them figure it out. James has spent his career seeking greener pastures and stacked teams, Davis forced his way out of New Orleans, and Harden has not been in shape since he unofficially went on strike when he forced his way out of Houston. If James does not appreciate playing alongside Westbrook--who plays hard, never makes excuses, and never throws his teammates under the bus--then let him have the James Harden Experience of bricked three pointers, defensive indifference, endless excuses, and relentless shade thrown toward teammates.
Westbrook would actually fit in well with Brooklyn, a team that needs a player who can push the pace and distribute the ball. Westbrook has a history of helping All-Star teammates play better than ever, and he has proven that he does not mind accepting a secondary scoring role.
The big rumor making the rounds is that the 76ers--whose president of basketball operations Daryl Morey loves Harden so much that he said with a straight face that Harden is a better offensive player than Michael Jordan--will trade conscientious objector Ben Simmons for James "My aching hamstring" Harden. By the way, all of the "insider reports" are hilarious. If you have absolutely no NBA connections whatsoever, how hard is it to figure out that (1) the 76ers would be better off trading Simmons than getting nothing of value for him as he sits out the season, (2) the Nets would like to get rid of malcontent Harden, and (3) Morey would move heaven and earth to acquire the player he considers to be the 21st century Michael Jordan? Yet, even though all of this is obvious, there are people who get paid a ton of money to provide "insider reports" that tell us things that are patently obvious. I don't know if the Harden-Simmons deal is going to happen or not, which means that I have at least one thing in common with the "insiders" (I hope that is the only thing that I have in common with them)--but I do know that both teams would like to make that deal on terms that they consider favorable.
Harden loved playing in Houston with a slightly past his prime Dwight Howard taking up space in the paint, so he will be thrilled sharing paint space and shot attempts with Joel Embiid. Embiid is the far superior player, but if he teams up with Harden he better get used to Harden jacking up shots from all angles.
No one knows where Simmons is mentally or physically. If he is even close to being mentally and physically ready to play, he could help the Nets as a playmaker, rebounder, and defender. The Nets have enough players who want and need to shoot the ball that they will not be overly perturbed by Simmons' reluctance to shoot.
A Westbrook for Harden trade is my unrealistic dream, but I will settle for watching Harden's bricks make sure that the 76ers never win a title as a reward for all of their tanking.
In all seriousness, I hope that the Lakers trade Westbrook. James and Davis are not committed to winning a title this season, but they are committed to letting Westbrook take the rap for the Lakers' underachieving season. The Lakers are fully capable of imploding without Westbrook, and that implosion will be difficult to blame on Westbrook if he finishes the season with a different team (particularly if that team uses Westbrook correctly and goes on a run down the stretch).