It's a mystery which team Russell Westbrook will be sent to this offseason, but it's safe to say that the Lakers will push as far as possible for deals involving Westbrook.
Of course, Westbrook is still a player with a player option of up to $47 million, and his performance this past season has greatly reduced the interest of other teams in him. However, the US media James Pearsey still proposed two fantastic plans for the Lakers to promote the Deal involving Westbrook:
Scenario 1:
The Lakers got: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier
The Hornets got: Russell Westbrook, 2027 first-round picks
Recently, it has been reported that the Hornets are interested in westbrook, after all, hornets owner Michael Jordan has always been very fond of westbrook, but considering that the hornets have clearly established the team with Lamelo Ball as the core of the team, how much westbrook's joining is really a question for them.
At least after joining the Hornets, Wei Shao may have to accept the "role setting" of playing behind Ball, and the young master's self-esteem may still be the saddest level. But for the Lakers, even if this requires them to sacrifice their 2027 first-round picks, it would be a plan worth considering for management to get rid of Westbrook and return to Hayward and Rozier.
Scenario two:
The Lakers got: Julius Randall, Evan Fournier
Knicks get: Russell Westbrook
In exchange for two tough players who can give the team a big boost on the offensive end without just sending Westbrook? This is believed to be the deal that the Lakers would most like to see, but the question is, why would the Knicks push for such a deal?
Westbrook may not be the player to lead the Knicks out of trouble and hit the championship, which is a big reason why such a deal is not so realistic. If the Lakers are willing to send a future draft pick, this may still convince the Knicks to push the deal.