It’s not any kind of new revelation to say that the Lakers went all-in by trading for Russell Westbrook. The team traded all of the depth from its 2020-21 team for Westbrook in a move that finally landed the Lakers the third superstar they long coveted.
At the same time, it was a high-risk move that brought in a player with a high level of variance between his ceiling and his floor. If things went well, the Lakers could vault to the top of the list of title contenders, but if things went poorly, then the team was likely going to struggle mightily.