Lakers' Best Bet Is to Boost Russell Westbrook's Trade Value On the Court

L.A. Lakers' new team is rebuilding and needs to improve on the court. Russell Westbrook's performance last season was disappointing. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Russ talked about their partnership during the first weekend of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Russ and his agent, Thad Foucher, split up recently. The team went 31-47 with him playing. When he played without LeBron, the team was minus-6.3 points per 100 possessions.

Russell Westbrook is a first-ballot Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player. He has been traded four times in four years. Foucher believes he will stay with the Lakers. He believes the market is telling the team to add value to Russell. It's not just Westbrook and one other scorer with Lakers, but also LeBron James and Bradley Beal. If James wants to move out of L.A., it's a steeper hill to climb than with Westbrook. The team is betting on a repeat of the success of 2020-21. They are also hoping that some other team will talk itself into the raw production.