Back in 2021, the Los Angeles Lakers made the big move to land Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Wizards.
Westbrook helped form a big three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
At the time, Lakers legend Magic Johnson was a huge fan of the deal.
Despite Johnson’s high hopes, the Lakers finished their only full season with Westbrook as the 11th seed in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record.
They then traded him during the middle of the 2022-23 season.
The 2017 MVP finished his tenure with the Lakers averaging 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 43.4% from the field and 29.7% from the three-point range in 130 games (81 starts).
While Westbrook is one of the best players of all time, he was clearly a poor fit for the Lakers (and Johnson’s prediction was way off).
After they traded the future Hall of Famer, the Lakers reached the 2023 Western Conference finals.
Westbrook was able to tranistion into a key role player on the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets since leaving the Lakers.
He finished this past season with averages of 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals per contest while shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.3% from the three-point range in 75 games
