With Harden's statement that he will not leave the team, there is one less big fish in the trading market, but Simmons and Westbrook are still hot figures in the trading market. Judging from the current trading rumors, the Lakers have not stopped trying to trade Westbrook, although it is indeed very difficult, but the Lakers still have a persistent attitude. The better thing is that the more rumors there are, the harder Westbrook tries, his stats and status begin to come back, and the help for the Lakers is gradually increasing. Still, it's a bit of a shame that Westbrook's plus-minus is still negative.
Therefore, the Lakers continue to contact many teams to take over Westbrook, the latest potential next home has also surfaced, the disappointing Celtics have entered the Lakers' sight, and the transaction that sent Westbrook away has finally dawned. It is reported that the Lakers have conducted preliminary discussions on trading Westbrook and Celtic, and the trading plan is very simple. The Lakers only need to send Westbrook alone, but the Celtics will take out the defensive center Horford and defensive player Smart, and then take a small 2023 second-round pick. On paper, the Celts suffered a lot because they only accepted a floating Wester.
The Lakers, on the other hand, are the absolute winners because Horford and Smart's contributions on the defensive end are very prominent. The Lakers barely solved the defensive problem after the comeback of the thick eyebrows, but there is still not enough defensive quality to speak of in the playoffs, of course, whether they can play in the playoffs is still difficult to say. If these two defensive players can be introduced, the Lakers' defensive weakness will become a strong point. Horford has averaged just 10 points per game this season, but he can grab 7.4 rebounds, and the bad three-point feel can be ignored, but as a veteran, he can bring experience and strong confrontation to the Lakers' defensive end.
Not to mention Smart, whose defensive ability can be ranked first in the Lakers' backcourt. The point is that the Celtics really want to send those two people away, especially since Smart has accused Gemini Brown and Tatum of not passing the ball. The Celtics will not let go of the two amazingly talented probing shows no matter what, after all, they are the cornerstone of the team, but the fact that they do not pass the ball to each other does exist. Therefore, the joining of Westbrook will inevitably stimulate gemini's nerves even more, but it is believed that there is a positive effect. Westbrook's stature and influence were enough to make Brown and Tatum whisper, while Westbrook was willing to pass the ball and he was able to take on the organizational responsibilities of the Celtics.
Apparently, the Lakers and Celtics could each take what they need through the deal. However, this transaction is still in the hearsay stage, and I believe that with the passage of time, the feasibility is still great. The Celtics do not need to rebuild, but need to improve the results as soon as possible, and the Lakers at this stage can not improve the winning rate through internal mining efforts, defensive problems are difficult to completely solve, only one person can call two defensive toughsters, which is definitely a good deal. In this way, the Lakers' lineup structure is more reasonable, although James lost the big three lineup, but the strength of the Lakers is not down but rising. If the deal comes true, you might as well aim again at the championship.