The Los Angeles Lakers stole the limelight away from the 2021 NBA Draft on Thursday, acquiring superstar Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards to form the league's newest Big 3 with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The LA Lakers surrendered three players in the deal, trading away Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the Wizards. Draft picks were also included in the megadeal, with the Wizards getting the Lakers' No. 22 pick in Thursday night's draft and Los Angeles acquiring Washington's second-round picks in the 2024 and 2028 drafts.
Lakers pivot to Westbrook deal after engaging in Hield talks
The Lakers earlier had talks with the Sacramento Kings on a possible deal for Buddy Hield with Kuzma and Harrell, the players also involved. The lure of a former league MVP was too hard to resist for the Lakers, though, as they decided to pivot to the Westbrook deal. To help facilitate the trade, Harrell had to opt into his $9.7 million player option for the 2021-22 season before the deal was consummated.
The Lakers decided to pull the trigger after a disappointing first-round exit in the 2021 playoffs, losing in six games to eventual Western Conference champions Phoenix Suns. Injuries decimated the Lakers in their title defense, losing LeBron James late in the regular season due to an ankle injury and Anthony Davis in the opening round of the playoffs due to a groin problem.
With the acquisition of Westbrook, the Lakers now have another legitimate scoring threat in their lineup. The nine-time All-Star just averaged a triple-double last season, the fourth time he has accomplished that feat in his career.
The Lakers now have two of the top five players in NBA history in career triple-doubles in Westbrook and James. Westbrook leads that department with a whopping 184 triple-doubles, while James has 99 of those in his career.
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Westbrook teams up with Davis and James to form league's newest Big 3
Westbrook's arrival provides the Lakers with another playmaker in their roster. The Lakers struggled in that department last season, as they ranked just 18th in the league in points per game created off assists.
Westbrook will surely improve that stat for the Lakers as he led the league in that department in three of the past four seasons. The only time Westbrook did not lead the NBA in that category was in the 2019-20 season when he joined forces with James Harden at Houston.
It will be interesting to see how Westbrook will co-exist with James and Davis. The Lakers made the deal to maximize James' remaining years in the league. It's important to note that three of James' previous four championships came with the help of two other superstars in the lineup.
James famously formed a formidable Big Three in Miami when he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, leading the Heat to back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. He then went back to Cleveland to join forces with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. They helped the Cavaliers win the championship in 2016, coming back from 3-1 down in the Finals to beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
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