Although due to the large number of veterans in the team and the poor core chemistry, many media and fans are not optimistic about the future prospects of the Lakers before the start of the season, but obviously no one thought that the Lakers would actually miss the top ten in the West, and even the playoffs could not enter. However, now that everything is a foregone conclusion, it is reported that the Lakers are ready to dismiss the employer coach Frank Vogel, but the Purple and Gold Army has many problems this season, and the team's lineup may be reorganized this summer, and Russell Westbrook, who is not very popular, is more likely to be swept out by the Lakers.
Don't look at the Russell Westbrook contract is relatively large, coupled with the peak period, his state has indeed shown a very obvious decline, but Russell Westbrook is about to enter his contract year, so many teams in the bottleneck period will naturally be willing to gamble on him. According to relevant reports in the US media, since the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets, the Indiana Pacers, who are only third from the bottom in the East this season, have also clearly expressed their interest in Russell Westbrook, and the Pacers have always wanted to get rid of the contracts of Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, and the salaries of these two players can be almost equal to Russell Westbrook. Like the New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets, the Indiana Pacers are an Eastern Conference team, and considering that even if Russell Westbrook is sent away, the Lakers are unlikely to be cheaper than other opponents in the division, so the possibility of the former MVP award winner returning to the East is really not small.
Despite the criticism throughout the season, it's all because Russell Westbrook's salary is the highest in the Lakers, and the outside world also expects him to take on core responsibilities. If you lower your expectations, you might think that Russell Westbrook is actually doing quite well. From the basic data, Russell Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1 steal per game, which is far below his peak level, but the 44.5% shooting rate is higher than the career average, and the three-point shooting rate is better than last season when he played for the Wizards. In particular, in the last 10 games, Russell Westbrook may be one of the best performers on the Lakers' team, scoring 20+ points in 8 times, including a triple-double, which shows that Russell Westbrook's performance is not as bad as people think.
For the Pacers, who are now gradually entering a rebuilding period, the player's combat strength and form have become less important, Russell Westbrook's biggest advantage is that they are in a contract year, on the contrary, whether it is Buddy Hield or Malcolm Brogdon, they will not become free agents until the summer of 2024. So Russell Westbrook can perform well, and on the contrary, he can get more attention for this small market team and free up salary space in advance, after all, the NBA is still a business league.
Before getting Russell Westbrook last summer, the Lakers were only one step away from bringing Buddy Hield back to Los Angeles. Before the end of the season, Buddy Hield was sent to the Pacers, and after joining the new owner, he averaged 18.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and his personal ability is still quite good. The Lakers have a lot of problems this season, of course, a very important point is that the offensive end of the space can not be pulled apart, and the outside projection is exactly what Buddy Hield is good at. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain in the Lakers, this team cannot be completely rebuilt, Buddy Hield is in the current year, coupled with his certain autonomy offensive ability, if the Lakers want to make a comeback, Buddy Hield is one of their most ideal targets for reinforcements.
Malcolm Brogdon was originally very valued by the Pacers, who not only offered the two-player a big contract with a maximum salary, but also in order to persuade the Bucks to be willing to release, the Pacers paid a number of draft picks as a price to bring Malcolm Brogdon back to India City in a first-come-first-served way. But with the deadline to get Halliburton, Malcolm Brogdon will obviously not be a non-sale of the Pacers, after all, unlike Buddy Hield, who joined together, Halliburton is still in the rookie contract, and the youngster is growing very fast, he is a teenager, and after joining the Pacers, he averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game, and it is clear that the team will regard him as the absolute core of the future.
The Pacers' willingness to send Malcolm Brogdon away is even stronger, and he can still average 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season, but Malcolm Brogdon has always been absent for a while due to injury in recent years, and his three-point shooting rate this season has also set a career low. And Malcolm Brogdon is now 29 years old and doesn't have much potential and upside. For the Lakers, Malcolm Brogdon's technology is quite comprehensive, projection, defense and organization have two brushes, so this summer the Lakers are expected to contact the Pacers for a long time and even negotiate accordingly.