USA Today via Reuters
Jan 7, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after scoring a basket and drawing the foul against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 7, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after scoring a basket and drawing the foul against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a turbulent season so far. Along with injuries, there have been several reports of discontent within the team and rumors that they wanted to trade Russell Westbrook before the trade deadline. But the agent of LeBron James and co-founder of Klutch Sports, Rich Paul, had something else to say about that.
There was a lot of noise at the trade deadline that Westbrook was gonna be traded. Reports suggest that the Lakers were in contact with the Houston Rockets to acquire John Wall in exchange for Russell Westbrook. The report also suggested that the Lakers turned down the offer, as the Rockets were demanding that they include the draft pick. The Lakers do not have that many assets, so they were reluctant to include the draft pick. But Rich Paul says this is far from the truth.
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USA Today via Reuters
Feb 16, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) laughs at a play by Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (not pictured) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
“It never happened,” says the agent of LeBron James
Rich Paul contacted Stephen A. Smith to address the story about the trade. Smith adds “Rich Paul called me yesterday and asked me to quote him on the story about him and Klutch Sports and essentially them wanting the Lakers to trade Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick to Houston for John Wall.”
“He wanted me to state emphatically that there was absolutely, positively, no truth to that whatsoever…The people who wrote the story never contacted him to get any kind of perspective from him on that. It is an absolute lie and he said, ‘Could you please do me a favor and quote me and tell the world that I specifically said that’s a damn lie. It’s no truth. It never happened.’”
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The Lakers tried their best in the trade market, but they couldn’t complete any moves that could help them. Reportedly, the Lakers will try their luck in the buyout market, but they have very limited options. The Lakers decided that they will work it out with their current squad, rather than disrupting the chemistry.
This season for the Lakers has been a disappointing one, but they still have time to turn it around. They just need to make sure that their stars are healthy before the playoffs and they find a suitable fit for Russell Westbrook. They do have the potential and talent to go all the way to the top, but first, they need to find out who they are as a team.
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