On April 13, Beijing time, ESPN celebrity Zach Lowe gave his own advice about Wei Shao in a show, and the Lakers and Hornets made a 3-for-2 transaction to take what they needed. The Lakers are once again overdrawing future draft picks, but creating a luxury frontal group, if the lineup remains healthy, is indeed powerful.
The deal is for the Lakers to send Westbrook, the first round of 2027, the first round of 2029, from the Hornets back to Hayward and Oubre. With an annual contract salary of $47.06 million next season, Westbrook should be executing player options. Hayward has two years left on his contract, with an annual salary of $30.07 million for the 2022-23 season and $31.5 million for the 2023-24 season. Oubre has one year left on his contract with an annual salary of $12.6 million, which is partially guaranteed.
Hayward, who was named to the All-Star Game in 2017, averaged 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists this season, shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range and averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game. His form has indeed slipped a lot from when he was an All-Star, and After returning from a serious injury, Hayward's athletic ability is not as good as before, and his self-confidence has also declined a little.
However, Hayward is still very good as a role player, he can shoot suddenly, has the ability to organize attack, and can play multiple positions on the field.
Oubre has averaged 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds this season, averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game and shooting 34.5 percent from three-point range. Oubre signed the Hornets on a two-year, $24.6 million contract last offseason, with $5 million guaranteed for the 2022-23 season, which will be fully covered on July 1, 2022.
If you send away Wei Shao and 2 first-round picks, in exchange for these two forward players, it is a big gamble for the Lakers, after all, this is indeed an overdraft of the future, with two first-round picks. By then, James may have retired, and the Lakers will enter a rebuilding period and will be worried about the lack of first-round picks, and these two first-round picks may have high value.
However, the Lakers must fight again in order to continue to rush the championship in the remaining career of James. At the same time, if Hayward and Oubre are healthy, the Lakers' front line combat effectiveness will become super strong.
The Lakers can send Oubre, Hayward, James and Thick Brow together, if paired with a defender with excellent shooting ability, then form a very flexible and changeable lineup, if paired with a center, then it is the death of the five lineups, all players on the court are more than 2 meters tall. Of course, this is just a suggestion for the Westbrook deal, and whether it can be done depends on the Lakers management's exploration.