So far in the 2021-22 season, the Lakers are arguably the worst performing team in the entire league. After pushing for a deal involving Russell Westbrook in the offseason last year, the Lakers have not been able to get fans to see the positives of trading Westbrook in almost all games this season, not to mention that the Lakers have not been able to change the lineup before this year's trade deadline.
So as the regular season enters the final stage, it is estimated that not many people in the league will still be optimistic about the Lakers' championship opportunities, and even in terms of performance, whether this Lakers can participate in the playoffs will be a problem.
With it difficult to turn things around this season, it may be more important for the current Lakers to think ahead about some potential moves in this offseason.
The Lakers do have a Big Three lineup of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, but this lineup is really difficult to play on the court, especially the need for the ball but not a stable outside projection, and even Westbrook, who has had great problems with efficiency and control errors so far this season. Simply put, the Lakers need to try to send away Westbrook, who holds a big contract in the offseason.
Before this year's deal deadline, the Lakers tried to push the Rockets for a deal involving Westbrook and Wall, but the deal ultimately failed to materialize. According to the US media Brett Siegel, the Lakers can continue to try this deal in this offseason:
Rockets: Russell Westbrook, Tarren Horton Tucker, 2027 first-round picks (protected with the first 10 picks)
The Lakers got: John Wall, Eric Gordon
In this deal, the Lakers can indeed get rid of Westbrook's contract, but they also need to absorb Wall's big contract and veteran Eric Gordon, even if this requires the Lakers to sacrifice Tucker and the 2027 first-round draft pick, but Wall and Gordon believe that they will be players who will help the team more than Westbrook and Tucker.
Of course, it is still unknown what choice the Lakers will eventually make this offseason, but if they want to get rid of Westbrook's contract, there are actually not many teams in the league that can let them push for a trade, and the Rockets are the only team that is likely to let the Lakers get the right chips in return.