Oklahoma City Thunder recently bid goodbye to Kevin Durant, and the player went on to team up with the Golden State Warriors. Ever since then, rumors have been firing up about another possible departure from Thunder. Although no official statement has been issued by any of the teams involved, speculations about the All Star's next move, if any, are running high.
One of the strongest contenders for a Westbrook tradeoff is the LA Lakers team. The LA team is popular for its young core team, which has performed surprisingly well during the summer league, as Baxter Holmes writes on ESPN. Westbrook himself is a Los Angeles native, and this is perhaps one of the bases for the rumors of a Lakers tradeoff.
However, it remains to be seen if the Lakers would settle for an exchange, or would wait for Westbrook to join them in a free agency. Reports strongly point to the latter course of action. For one thing, as SB Nation recalls, LA Lakers would not want to disrupt their strong core and trade away any of their young talents in return for a player who would most likely leave them within the next year.
The Lakers team is currently going strong, and they even managed to win over seasoned players like Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng as free agents this summer. When the experience of these veterans is coupled with the vigor of their young stars Julius Randle, Larry Nance, Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Ingram, the team could offer enough promise to Westbrook to allow him to consider taking their side.
If Thunder decides to move Westbrook in a tradeoff, the free agency win for the Lakers may not come to pass. Should the LA native player be available, the Boston Celtics may have a strong hand in taking the bid. So, where will Westbrook be headed, to the Lakers or the Celtics? We'll just have to wait and watch.
