After the Lakers' overtime victory over the Nuggets on April 11, the 21-22 NBA regular season schedule was completed. With no playoffs, the Purple and Gold's 21-22 season came to an end. After the official announcement of Vogel's class, the next key for the Lakers is how to handle Westbrook's contract. According to the information revealed by the media at the end of the season, it is not difficult to see that Westbrook has not been able to integrate into the team throughout the season. Not only did he have little communication with James and Davis, the NBA's all-time triple-double even clashed with a number of teammates and coaches. Given his poor chemistry with James, and his big contract of $47 million next season, the Lakers presumably hope to send Westbrook away through a trade.
However, Westbrook's poor performance this season has clearly affected the value of his trade, and there seems to be no team in the league at this stage willing to bring in Westbrook as a reinforcement. However, although Westbrook has become a model of high salary and low ability in the league at this stage, his contract is still of high use to rebuild the team. At the end of a year, the 47 million super contract allows the rebuilding team to accelerate the completion of the team rebuild, throwing off multiple multi-year contract burdens in one season. According to previous reports, the Hornets were interested in using Westbrook's contract to dump Hayward's contract. Earlier today, prominent journalist Shams Charania reported that pacers were also interested in joining the discussion about the Westbrook deal. The Pacers hope to sell as much of their team assets as possible this summer to speed up the team's rebuilding process, with stars including Turner, Brogdon and Hield all being traded.
According to media analysis, the Pacers have made the 22-year-old defender the core of the team after acquiring defender Halliburton in the middle of the 21-22 season. To make way for the future core, Brogdon will be sold by the team. Brogdon, 29, is a recent NBA veteran rookie who won the 16-17 rookie of the season. But given that the team already has a young core, Brogdon's contract, which ended in the 24-25 season, became a burden on the Pacers' rebuilding path. It is reported that the walkers' offer will be mainly Brogdon, plus one of Hilde or Turner to package in exchange for Westbrook. In this deal, the Pacers will most likely also ask the Lakers for a first-round pick. If the deal closes, the Pacers have a chance to clear out nearly $60 million in salary space in one season, which is very tempting for them.
Brogdon has made 36 appearances this season and is averaging 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. Although the panel data has fallen back from last season, Brogdon's hard power is still guaranteed. Whether at the Bucks or Pacers, Brogdon has proven he can be the outside core of any team. Coupled with the fact that he has both the ball and the James Davis combination of the Lakers, Brogdon may become the outside answer that the Lakers have been looking forward to for three seasons. Hield's scandal with the Lakers has been passed on for many seasons, and Hield was very close to coming to the Lakers before Westbrook joined the Lakers. The league's top shooter has maintained a superb projection performance this season, averaging 3.2 three-pointers per game with more than 35 percent three-point shooting. The overall stats of 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game also prove that he is not just a no-ball shooter, but also has a certain ability to hold the ball. If the Lakers can trade Westbrook for the Pacers' backcourt doubles, they're bound to grow. Do fan friends think this deal should be done? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!