Russell westbrook He is a player of indisputable quality, it is beyond any doubt that the Los Angeles-born point guard he’s a living NBA legend, but it is as true as that he has never been able to contribute positively to a winning team.
Russ is a statistical machine the player with the most triple-doubles in history, but with a more than doubtful efficiency. In the Lakers, it is not worth making empty numbers, you have to add victories and It seems that the contribution of the base is not what they need to win and according to journalist Jake Fisher, the Lakers could consider moving him and one option is to look the arrival of Ricky Rubio.
Westbrook and LeBron don’t quite work together
The Californian franchise already has Lebron James in their ranks, who absorbs a lot of ball and Westbrook is a point guard who needs the ball to produce, It does not have a consistent shot or the ability to generate away from the ball and it does not add in the defensive facet, rather, it subtracts. While it is true that the point guard came to take responsibility and give LeBron rest, When the two come together, they don’t quite work.
Westbrook performance improved in December, his percentages have gotten better, he’s shooting 50% in 3-pointers. Now it will be necessary to see if it is able to maintain its efficiency or it returns to a more habitual and inefficient 32%.
The transfer by Ricky on the table
Given that the Californians did not quite offer an optimal version with their Big-3 on the court, in part, caused by the lack of launching of 3 and poor defense, Jake Fisher believes that the Lakers could be open to seeking a trade for Westbrook. For now, nothing is clear, but there are two possibilities that stand out above all: Ben Simmons and a pack consisting of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.
The Australian base of the Sixers It’s been on the market for months, but its null capacity for launch would only grow one of the main problems of the team, in addition, the Lakers already have a playmaker on LeBron so Simmons’ role would be highly uncertain.
Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio would improve the team
On the other hand, the Love and Ricky package would make a lot more sense. Russ’ high salary complicates any operation, but the sum of Love and Rubio’s salaries would equalize the numbers and make the move viable. Sportingly, this exchange makes much more sense, Love would provide a lot of space to some Lakers in need of it and for their part, Spanish could be perfectly complemented by Lebron opening the field and generating with and without the ball.
It is evident that the Lakers need changes to clearly aspire to the ring, right now they are not a team strong enough in the back or efficient in attack to surpass western powers like Warriors or Suns. So that, The arrival of Ricky Rubio could be the final piece for Californians aspiring to win the 18th ring in their history.