In the battle between the Lakers and the Lone Ranger, six words floated in the sky - "Do you still trade Wei Shao?" ”
24 seconds before the end of overtime, James scored a surprise point, and Westbrook, who was buried in the bottom left corner, hit a three-point shot to give the Lakers a three-point lead.
The Lone Ranger stubbornly leveled, leaving the Lakers with 15.5 seconds to perform the kill. Westbrook received the ball in the bottom corner again, this time instead of shooting, he dribbled in to draw the defensive forces to his side, and then assisted Austin Rivers to seal his throat. 107-104, the Lakers closed the victory, Anderson 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists quasi-triple-double report card was sent.
In the last 2 minutes and 42 seconds of overtime, the Lakers scored a total of 12 points, of which 5 points were won by Wei Shao himself, and the other 7 points were won by Wei Shao's assist teammates, and a shot and a pass at a key moment directly killed the game, which is the version of Wei Shao that the Lakers long to see, grasp the opportunities created by teammates, especially James, and at the same time bring opportunities for teammates through their own dribbles.
After all, the game cannot be discussed, but he can at least get some "breathing rights" in the rumors flying around, and there is no need to "meet" today.
December 15, local time in the United States, is an important date for the 2021-22 season, from this day, players signed in the offseason can be used for trading, and the player market will have more resources to promote the team to trade operations.
The time has come, will the Lakers do it? If they do, will they send Westbrook away?
The US media has reported that the Lakers have discussed the possibility of a deal with Westbrook. Of course, there is a long distance between discussion and actual action, and the league is in the business of discussing, and all but a few superstars may be included in the deal discussion.
However, Wei Shao is the lakers' most important reinforcement in the offseason, smashing the pot to sell iron to get, half of the regular season has not yet arrived, if the Lakers really as the insiders broke the news to study the feasibility of trading Wei Shao, it must be that the coaching staff and management are not satisfied with the game effect brought by Wei Shao, so they seek change.
Westbrook's personal performance at the beginning of the season was really bad, averaging 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.9 assists in the first 12 games of the season, which seemed to be OK, but the shooting rate was only 41.6%, the three-point shooting rate was 28%, and the average turnover per game was as high as 5.3. During that time, non-Lakers fans watched Westbrook games as if they were watching "comedy", and Lakers fans watched "farce".
The downturn in the opening stage of the season is not surprising to Wei Shao, whose style of play determines that adapting to the new owner has to pay a relatively larger cost, and as the season progresses, Wei Shao has made progress in integrating into the Lakers, and in the last 17 games (counting the Lone Rangers), Wei Shao has averaged 19.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game, shooting 48%, 35% three-point shooting, and reducing the average turnover per game to 4.1.
Since Wei Shao is getting better and better, why do the Lakers have the idea of trading him? Because the Lakers have not yet fully put in place the problem of Westbrook's compatibility with James, Westbrook is the kind of player who cannot change the characteristics of the game, only with the ball in his hand can play a role, playing no ball will often become the point where the opponent lets go. Wei Shao needs his teammates to provide space conditions when he holds the ball, but he cannot bring sufficient space effect to his teammates when he has no ball. So, working with Wei Shao, you don't expect him to change, you have to take the initiative to change to adapt to him.
James has averaged career-highs in three-point shots and shots per game this season, with 18.4 percent of his three-point shots, the highest in the last nine seasons, and 39 percent of James' three-point shots shots through catches and shots came from Westbrook's assists. James wants to switch to the role of shooter, bring space support to Wei Shao, and become the receiving point next to Wei Shao.
This brings a hidden danger, once James's three-pointer is not good, his and Westbrook's cooperation effect will not come out. Due to the lack of timing of Wei Shao's projection, the thick-browed brother pulled his crotch to "tears" this season, and the Lakers had to put James in the fifth position during the lineup rotation, which was a big drain on the old Zhan. James' average playing time this season has set a new career high for the Lakers, and he will be 37 years old after waiting for half a month, and the Lakers' use of this use is at risk of injury.
Therefore, it is normal for the Lakers to have trading ideas, Wei Shao is the first high salary in the team, if the Lakers want to exchange for a ball holding core that is more suitable for Old Zhan, without moving thick eyebrows, they can only move Wei Shao.
But it's one thing to think about it, it's another thing to do it or not to do it. Counting this season, Wei Shao has a total contract price of 91 million for two years, and the reputation he has accumulated in the last three seasons, as well as this big contract, is difficult to exchange for a very strong player. For example, if Westbrook can change Irving, then of course, good, personality aside, in terms of technical characteristics alone, Irving is very suitable for partnering james, and the experience of cooperation between the two in the Cavaliers proves this, but will the Nets change?
In the same way, are the Blazers willing to trade Lillard for Less? Recent news about Westbrook -Simmons is quite a lot, not to mention that the 76ers are not happy, even if the 76ers agree, on Simmons' non-existent three-point projection, what is the value of the Lakers?
Instead of fantasizing about a better third big, it is better to use the cards in your hand well, which may be the best choice for the Lakers. Wei Shao is the former MVP, is the historical triple double king, he is by no means an incompetent person, but his technical characteristics need to be matched by the corresponding conditions to play a role, there is a ball version of Wei Shao can still create some surprises.
Giving the ball to Wei Shao is the best solution that the Lakers can currently execute, and as for his contribution when he does not have the ball, it depends on luck.
At least, for the Lone Ranger, the Lakers had good luck.