The Lakers have traded for Washington Wizards superstar Russell Westbrook — and what looks to be three second-round draft picks — after the player reportedly requested for the deal to go through. It will be a homecoming for the Los Angeles native who also played at UCLA, a basketball life coming full circle for the NBA’s triple-double king.
That being said, Westbrook brings a very specific set of skills — and flaws — that make his fit on the team a very intriguing one. Silver Screen and Roll’s own Alex Regla wrote about key strengths that Russell brings to the Lakers, and I added to that foundation in the following video that touches on five ways Westbrook improves the Lakers’ offense by both addressing key deficiencies, and optimizing current strengths:
Insert video
There’s a clear rationale for how Westbrook can help this Lakers team on the offensive end, especially when you consider the replacements the Lakers brought in for the key players involved in the deal (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma).