Russell Westbrook has made it clear that his “plan” is to be back with the Lakers next year, or at least that he’s going to opt into his $47 million player option for the 2022-23 season.
What happens after that, however, will be the Lakers’ choice. And while it feels unlikely that either party would actually want to run things back after a truly disastrous first year together in Los Angeles, if the team can’t find a trade for Westbrook this summer and are dead-set against bringing him back, one other option they could utilize is the waive and stretch provision of the collective bargaining agreement.