When the regular season record was surpassed by the Spurs of latecomers, the Lakers' championship journey this season was announced, the championship-winning lineup led by James, Davis, and Westbrook proved unable to succeed, and the drastic reforms in the 2021 offseason ended in failure. Sacrificing Pope, Kuzma and other championship heroes, the operation from the Wizards trade to Wei Shao could not achieve the expected effect in practice, and the Lakers wanted to go further and change the lineup in the 22-23 season to seize James's final peak.
Ke Weishao and the Lakers still have a one-year contract of $47.06 million, how to get rid of this huge premium contract, is a major problem for the current Lakers management. After all, Westbrook needs an all-space lineup to maximize its offensive value, including individual scoring and the ability to drive teammates, which are very space-eating; therefore, the league must have a good team of shooters to be worth a try. so? Which team is willing to get Westbrook and reshuffle the cards to hit the playoffs and championships again?
In fact, there really is, that is, the Hornets of Jordan, the god of basketball, and their situation is very similar to that of the Lakers. After getting a playoff spot, but losing out to the Hawks and missing the playoffs, the team has become a bit of a chicken rib with a famous veteran like Hayward. From the perspective of this team's lineup, the structure based on Rozier, three goals, and Bridges can become the future lineup team; and Bridges can average 20.2 points, 7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, averaging the first point per game, rebounding second, and assisting the team third, and his counterattack rise has made Hayward slowly marginalized in his tactical position.
That said, what Hayward can do, Bridges can do better, this is a younger and healthier future star. And, according to sources, Hayward is currently focused on recovering from an injured foot injury while being interested in leaving the Hornets in the offseason. According to BR reporter Jack Fisher, the Hornets will renew Bridges' contract with a $5-year, $173 million top salary this offseason. In this way, we can see Bridges as the central figure of the future on the team's third position, and Hayward becomes no longer indispensable.
Previously, it was reported that the Hornets were interested in Wei Shao and were happy to get the former MVP and triple-double king in order to reduce the offensive and organizational pressure of the three goals. According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, "League sources say two teams, charlotte and Indiana, are likely to move first-team players to the Lakers to trade Westbrook. It is reported that the Lakers plan to send Westbrook + Horton Tucker + 2027 first-round picks, seeking an exchange for Hayward + Oubre + Plumlee.
The 3-for-3 deal can be described as a win-win operation, the Lakers got the coveted flanks and interior line, and also got rid of a big contract like Wei Shao, making the salary space easier to operate. You know, although The data is considerable when Wei Shao is present, he always feels that he cannot integrate well with James and Davis, and he cannot do the effect of 1+1+1>3 in the chemical reaction. But replace it with 3D on the flanks, so James and Davis can get room to break through, and Davis also gets substitutes like Plumlee.
For the Hornets, the team got a big core of ball holding like Westbrook, which allowed the three-goal talent to play to the fullest and reduce organizational pressure. In addition, Westbrook only has a one-year contract left, and even if the Hornets can't go further next season, they can quickly throw away such baggage and find more suitable people in the free market. Just a little bit, the Hornets made it to the playoffs, and due to the instability of the team's lineup and the lack of a stable offensive and defensive tactical system, the 21-22 season was regarded as a year of training.
Such a win-win deal solution, the management of both sides may be worth a try, after all, relying on the current lineup can not go further.