Westbrook's situation with the Lakers is taking a sharp turn for the worse, and while he was in good shape in a few games james was injured and missed, he was once again a marginal player after James returned to the lineup. Shooting 1-of-10 from the field, with just 5 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 turnovers in 30 minutes, such a poor performance made Westbrook once again miss the team's final lineup in the Lakers' victory over the Knicks. After the game, Westbrook said that coach Vogel did not tell him in advance that he would not be allowed to play in overtime, which showed that Westbrook had been isolated in the team. In fact, the Lakers began trying to trade away Westbrook as early as December, but the former MVP's 40 million contract could not attract the interest of any team. With the trade deadline approaching, the Lakers seem to have been unable to complete any trade to reinforce the lineup. But the last two days of such a bad situation seem to have turned around. Recently, the well-known media TheAthletic exposed a new deal rumor, the Lakers and Kings seem to have begun to negotiate a deal around Westbrook.
According to reports, the Kings are willing to take over Westbrook's top salary contract until the 2022-23 season, as long as the Lakers are willing to take two first-round signings to subsidize the Kings. According to the reporter's analysis, although the Lakers currently only have their own 2027 first round to trade, it is not ruled out that they used the remaining chips to trade other teams to meet the Kings requirements in the first round in order to send Westbrook away. It is reported that the King's deal with the Lakers will revolve around three players, the Lakers sent Westbrook, and the Kings sent Hield and Barnes. If Hield and Barnes can be harvested, the Lakers obviously do not reject the use of players such as Munch, Nunn and Tucker in exchange for first-round picks. The Kings have recently officially begun to rebuild, with the team's young cores Harry Burton and Fox both on the shelves, and the big contract that has two years left in Westbrook at this time is a piecemeal deal for the Kings to help them complete the salary space clearance task a season ahead of schedule. Coupled with the two potential first-round picks in the deal, the Kings could have achieved their goal if the deal was made.
Harrison Barnes, 29, became famous with the Warriors, and his excellent flanking defensive ability and ability to catch the ball and shoot the ball are fundamental to his foothold in the league. He averaged 33.7 minutes per game this season, averaging 16.8 points, 6 rebounds and 2.5 assists, and averaged two three-pointers from 40 percent of the three-point range, making him the league's top flanking role player today. If the Lakers succeed in bringing in Barnes, not only can they get a wing swinger at the starting level, but Barnes can also contribute a certain amount of independent scoring ability to the bench lineup. Barnes' current contract is $85 million for four years signed with the Kings in the summer of 2019, with one more season to expire after the season ends. For Barnes, who will turn thirty by then, playing next to James is clearly a stepping stone to the last big contract of his career.
Another Kings player, Buddy Hield, who is caught up in a trade spiral, believes everyone is already familiar with it, and the same 29-year-old shooting guard has had numerous scandals with the Lakers since entering the league. Unlike the all-round Barnes, Hield's strength is more in his projection ability. He's averaged 3.3 three-pointers per game with 37.4 percent three-point shooting, and has hit a total of 182 three-pointers so far, the latter two of which are third in the league, behind Curry and VanVleet. Although the average score per game this season is the lowest level in the past three seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers with the James combination obviously do not need Hield and Barnes to contribute an average of 20 plus per game, just need them to do a good job within the points. Do fans and friends think the deal will work? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!