Lakers

NBA Trade Rumors: As a surprise to no one, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to restart Russell Westbrook trade talks soon.

But that’s always been the case for the Lakers since Russ decided to opt into the final year of his contract. And according to a recent report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the expectation is that the Lakers will restart trade talks for Russ soon. Nevertheless, it appears that the Lakers will try to make things work with Russ.

Friday was a newsworthy day surrounding Russell Westbrook. He came off the bench rather than starting the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason loss to the ...

But it seems like the Lakers may want to deal him and go in a different direction with their lineup. It's hard to imagine that Westbrook will struggle as much as he did last season. It could also help if Westbrook comes off the bench, as that may be a better fit for him given the Lakers' current roster construction. When it was announced he wouldn't be in the starting lineup for Friday's exhibition contest, head coach Darvin Ham called it "not a demotion" but "a realignment," according to Because of that, it may be best for Los Angeles to just move fast if it's set on parting ways with Westbrook. He came off the bench rather than starting the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham praised Russell Westbrook for embracing a reserve role although nothing is set in stone.

“So for him to trust us and trust what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to take some notes on, to see if him being in that part of the rotation has any benefit to us as a whole, again my hats off to him I salute him because a lot of guys would’ve had a lot of pushback. The latest in a number of injuries to rear their head for the Lakers, including another point guard in Dennis Schroder who is dealing with a finger issue. To create some type of balance we wanted to look at this setup of this type of rotation to see if it works for us. From a strategic standpoint, the move makes sense as it allows Westbrook more time to operate with the ball in his hands as he is used to while allowing Ham to place another shooter around LeBron James in the Lakers’ starting lineup. He totally understood, totally looked me in my eye and told me, ‘Yea coach whatever you need me to do.’ You can’t take that for granted. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham decided to try something different in the team’s final preseason game, but something that many have called for.

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook left Saturday's preseason finale against the Kings with a hamstring injury in the first quarter.

Los Angeles also was without [Anthony Davis](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6583/anthony-davis), with the big man skipping the trip for precautionary reasons because of lower-back tightness. [LeBron James](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebron-james) led the Lakers with 12 points, playing 20 minutes. [Lakers](https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers) guard [Russell Westbrook](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3468/russell-westbrook)will be reevaluated Saturday after exiting Los Angeles' 133-86 loss to the host [Sacramento Kings](https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/sac/sacramento-kings) on Friday night with a left hamstring injury.

After your Los Angeles Lakers almost traded $47.1 million point guard Russell Westbrook for Indiana Pacers vets Myles Turner and Buddy Hield ahead of the ...

It's also quite possible that the draft equity asking amount could decline as teams get increasingly more desperate to worsen their own on-court output. Should that happen this season, Los Angeles may be able to make a splashier, more favorable trade than was possible prior to this Wembanyama development “The Lakers at some point here will start engaging teams again on possible Russell Westbrook trades.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham suggested Friday that guard Russell Westbrook is completely open to coming off the bench this season.

The door's not closed on Russ starting, and the door's not closed on [whether] this works, you know. "Some guys play better off the ball, some guys play better with the ball in their hands, and through no fault of their own, that's just how they're built, you know? And you know, [Westbrook] has been a pro, man, Russ is one of the most beautiful human beings I've ever come across in this business, on and off the floor.

The Los Angeles Lakers' latest decision with Russell Westbrook may make a trade to the Indiana Pacers more imminent than before.

This is where the Indiana Pacers come in, as they have been the only club so far to show a degree of tolerance to any Westbrook trade— Newly installed head coach Darvin Ham has shown an inclination to try and piece together an obviously ill-fitting LA Lakers squad, a stance shared by the team’s management in hopes of opening more finance and asset leeway for the long-term. Following a tedious and admittedly exhausting barrage of news on that front, both teams seemed content to at least begin the 2022-23 season with what they have on the table.

Will the swingman make the team's opening night roster? ... It looks like new Lakers small forward Matt Ryan will be a Los Angeles Laker a little while longer!

Ryan has some upside, and will get a longer look while on his current non-guaranteed deal with the team. Having gone the other direction entirely, the team is clearly looking to bolster its shooting with a pure long-range gunner. Through his five preseason contests with Los Angeles, Ryan is averaging 8.2 points and one rebound across 13.1 minutes a night.

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly will not waive Matt Ryan so he makes the Opening Night roster as the 15th player.

is expected to [re-engage teams on trade talks](https://lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-l-a-expected-to-again-engage-teams-on-russell-westbrook-trades-after-regular-season-starts/2022/10/14/) involving the former MVP once the season starts. The Lakers have 14 players on their roster but are allowed to go into the season with 15 players if they want. Understanding that, the Lakers brought in a sharpshooter in Matt Ryan on a non-guaranteed contract just before the start of training camp.