Home

NBA

“Why Would They Not Take This?”: NBA Fans Found the ‘Final Nail in the Coffin’ as LeBron James’ Lakers Made a Big Russell Westbrook Trade Decision

Published 10/25/2022, 11:25 PM EDT

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

The Los Angeles Lakers attempted to trade Russell Westbrook during the off-season. But, in the end, they opted to continue with him. At the start of the current season, the Lakers were once again reportedly offered a trade for Westbrook. This trade would likely have filled one of their most critical gaps. However, LeBron James’ Lakers preferred to wait before making a decision. Fans have seemingly been left dissatisfied with the franchise after the news broke.

The Lakers have disappointed fans with their performances so far in the 2022-2023 NBA season. They dropped three games in a row during the regular season after dropping five of six pre-season games. Despite having major stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading from the front, they have yet to win their first game.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Shooting has undoubtedly been a huge issue for the Lakers this season. And it appears that this has been haunting them for the previous few seasons. Speaking about their most recent game against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers’ three-point shooting percentage was 18.2%, which was half that of the Blazers.

LeBron James’ Lakers want to wait before making any decision on Westbrook’s trade

On October 25th, Lakers Daily reported that the Utah Jazz was willing to send their big package players to the Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Utah Jazz sharpshooters Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gay were reportedly part of the huge deal. And their presence with the Lakers would have probably filled the most significant gap in the shooting department.

via Getty

Conley has a career 38.1% three-point shooting percentage. Gay is now hitting 45.5% from the three-point range, while Bogdanovic is lighting up the court with a 50.0%  shooting range beyond the arc.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

But the Los Angeles Lakers don’t seem to be in a hurry. According to the reports, the Lakers want to wait for 20-25 games before making any further decisions. Which was enough to leave fans with plenty to say. NBA Central tweeted about the report and a tsunami of fan opinions came flooding in.

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

And the nightmare for Russell Westbrook seems to continue. Many fans feel that the Lakers would have won at least one game by now if Russell Westbrook had sat out. Despite having major stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading from the front, they have certainly not had the start they expected so far. But the Lakers must have something in mind, and fans will hope they manage to return to winning ways soon.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story:  Kareem vs LeBron beef? What did the Lakers legend say about LeBron James? 

How do you think LeBron James and the Lakers will fare this season? Let us know in the comments below.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Ritesh Jha

240Articles

One take at a time

Ritesh Jha is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Bachelor's in Technology in Computer Science from Rungta College. Ritesh worked as an intern content writer for a digital marketing agency called KCAS Branding before joining EssentiallySports.
Show More>

Edited by:

Veer Badani