When the team's record is in question, Los Angeles Lakers fans always look for scapegoats to vent their grievances. Last year, head coach Frank Vogel was sacked, and this season, Russell Westbrook seems to be the person who has received the most criticism and criticism from the fan base.
Newly hired head coach Davin Ham has tried to make Russell Westbrook the Lakers' sixth man, and his production has been a huge success. Westbrook has been making progress over the past few weeks, but it seems inevitable that he will trade before the trade deadline. With their contracts expiring, the following three teams could be traded to Russell Westbrook for a suitable role, while Westbrook could also be rejuvenated.
1. Washington Wizards
Russell Westbrook could return to the Washington Wizards, a point guard that the Wizards have had since Wall left, and Washington did not fill the void in the point guard position after Westbrook left in 2021. Russell Westbrook had a lot of problems earlier in the 2020-21 season, but when Westbrook and Bradley Beal took the team to the playoffs before playing the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, they were out of the game.
Then the Wizards never made the playoffs again. Wizards rookie right Johnny Davis didn't get a lot of playing time, so the Wizards could address their point guard rotation by adding someone like Westbrook again.
2. Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are a team desperately desperate for scorers and contributions on the bench. If Russell Westbrook does join the Bulls, he will not start because Lonzo Ball will be placed in the starting point guard position when he is completely healthy. When DeMar DeRozan or Zach LaVine are resting, Westbrook will be given about 6-8 minutes of playing time.
Westbrook won't join the Bulls under the same pressure as he did in Los Angeles. However, the possibility of him joining the Bulls is Westbrook's agreement to a buyout with the Lakers. Even if it may not win a championship, the Bulls may perform better than the Lakers in the coming years.
3. Miami Heat
Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson simply did not contribute effective energy to the Miami Heat. The Heat need a scorer off the bench to help Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Taylor Jero. The depth of this lineup is very shallow, so they can use Westbrook as the sixth man on this team.
Unless the Heat are willing to let go of Lowry and Robinson, the deal will be difficult to play out, so a more reasonable expectation is that Westbrook and Lowry and Robinson will all be bought out. It's still early in the season, so Miami may not have made drastic moves yet, but they must at least be interested in Westbrook in a Heat uniform.