#russell-westbrook

#russell-westbrook

We all know the narrative by now - on February 8, the day before the trade deadline, the Lakers were five games below .500and in the Western Conference's 13th place.Then, just after noon Pacific time, the team landed D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.Although Vando was almost certainly seen as the throw-in of the deal, following a former All-Star and a credible "laser," he has a colorable case of being the most important piece the Lakers got for Russell Westbrook, a first round pick, and two more minimum-salaried players.

With free agency rapidly approaching the Washington Wizards could be looking to round out their roster, particularly around franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal.Luckily for them there is one player in the free agency pool that fits that description to a T.
The type of player that would fit Bradley Beal the most is a player who can move the ball, stretch the floor to a certain extent but doesn't have to be elite, put pressure on the rim even as a shooter, and above all be an elite defensive presence.

Today in updates that surely no one will speculate about, Kyrie Irving decided to show up and sit courtside for Lakers vs. Grizzlies Game 6 in Los Angeles.Joining him - sitting in his customary seats to the right of the scorer's table on the TV broadcast for the first time in seemingly forever - was Lakers superfan Jack Nicholson.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA.Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Los Angeles Lakers fans and fans across the country.Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.Only a few months ago, the Lakers' outlook for free agency was fairly simple.

With Rob Pelinka in the front office, the Lakers have chased stars in virtually every way.Whether through trade or free agency, Pelinka and the Lakers have wanted a Big Three at all costs and, after failing multiple times, finally realized that plan through Russell Westbrook.The result was, obviously, disastrous and the team was forced to cut bait, but what they stumbled into was better than anything they've had in recent years.

After coming up short as NBA Championship favorites, the Boston Celtics are facing-what could be-a pivotal offseason.There's certainly room for improvement after the way Boston's season came to a close, losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.There's been speculation that the team may look to trade some of its core, specifically Jaylen Brown, but that's not the only way they can improve.

The Washington Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma is having some fun on social media after his former team; the Los Angeles Lakers got swept at the hands of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.Following their playoff exit, the Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka gave a press conference today, signaling their intentions of "keeping their core players together".

The streak is over.Eleven road losses in a row did not become 12.Ending the streak which lasted nearly two months is a reason for celebration for the Dubs.That was gross, Klay Thompson said of the losing streak.But so was the Warriors' win over the Rockets.The Warriors didn't win the game so much as the young Rockets lost it.

The news that Kawhi Leonard wasn't playing Saturday afternoon for the Clippers against the Orlando Magic because of right knee injury management was already a blow with so few games left in the regular season and L.A. jockeying for playoff position in the topsy-turvy Western Conference.Then after the Clippers lost 113-108 to the Magic at Crypto.com

President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger shakes hands with Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis.(Craig Hudson for The Washington Post) The news conference to introduce the Washington Wizards' new president of Monumental Basketball had started and there was a very important person missing: Michael Winger, the new president of Monumental Basketball.

The NBA Finals are set - the Denver Nuggets will face the Miami Heat starting on June 1.As we patiently await the Finals, let's take a look at the four former Washington Wizards who will be playing, all for the Nuggets.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (2021-22)
Caldwell-Pope, a champion with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, was shipped to the Wizards in the infamous 2021 trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Lakers.

Direction is something the Washington Wizards organization has lacked since 2017.John Wall went down with injury, Bradley Beal developed into a 30 ppg scorer, and the front office didn't know what to do.After wasting two solid years of Beal's career, they made the decision to trade Wall.The problem was that it wasn't for picks or young talent.

After a month-long wait and speculation regarding the new front office structure, the Washington Wizards finally have their guy.As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, former Los Angeles Clippers General Manager Michael Winger has agreed to become the president of Monumental Basketball, giving him full leadership of the Washington Wizards.

Ranking the nine Miami Heat players under contract for next season in terms of trade value.This is not a list of player power rankings.This is a ranking of the Miami Heat's nine players under contract for next season in terms of trade value.For example, Jimmy Butler comes in at second, behind Bam Adebayo, not because Adebayo is better than Butler but because Adebayo, at 25 and under a team-friendly deal, has way more trade value to the 29 other NBA teams than the 33-year-old Butler.

Changing the Toronto Raptors' culture will be an everyday project, with every player and member of the organization having to buy in.New head coach Darko Rajakovic knows that level of commitment has to start with him.Rajakovic was officially named the 10th head coach in the Raptors' history on Tuesday, ending days of speculation that the former Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach was coming to Toronto.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could only laugh when he was asked about having won an NBA championship as a starting guard with the Lakers in 2020.Now as a starting guard with the Denver Nuggets both teams are in the other's way of trying to reach the NBA Finals.

In his 20th NBA season LeBron James has officially reached the ageist chapter of his hero's journey.Since passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, the 38-year-old hasn't been able to take a dribble without being declared the oldest to do this or that, as his son literally waits in the wings to take up his father's mantle.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

In early November, after the Lakers had lost seven of their first nine games, I gave up."The Lakers stink," I wrote.In early April, they looked tired and distracted and I threw in the towel."The Lakers are not a championship team," I wrote.

3:17 pm: We're done.Jak's the guy, and there ain't no more.My take on Poeltl here.Thanks for kicking it with me today.3:00 pm: Okay, I say this every year, but we ain't done.Teams can make trades up until 3:00 pm, but they can announce them after the deadline.We'll have some trades rolling in for the next 20 minutes.

With the return of baseball just around the corner, here are three things we'll be keeping an eye on around the sports world throughout the day today:
1. WBC Rosters Announcement The World Baseball Classic is set to return for its fifth installment next month, and tonight, WBC rosters will be announced.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves just conducted a trade to send former Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was traded to Utah.But what does this have to do with the Wizards?Chris Haynes from Bleacher Report reported that the Jazz will likely buy out Westbrook's contract.

Jayson Tatum had a Game 7 for the ages.Top stories of the week from

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In the Boston Celtics' 112-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Tatum absolutely took over, scoring 51 points on 17-of-28 shooting and adding 13 rebounds and five assists.

The first domino of the Lakers offseason was a very powerful one played by LeBron James barely an hour after the final buzzer of Game 4 on Monday.After some cryptic, eyebrow-raising postgame comments, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Dave McMenamin of ESPN both reported that LeBron was considering retirement.

1. Playoff games in the National Basketball Association provide a unique opportunity to witness the intensity of competition between some of the best players in the world.
2. The atmosphere in the arena during the playoffs is electric, with fans and players alike feeling the gravity of the moment.
3. The uncertainty

The Los Angeles Lakers simply proved to be too big, too long, too deep and too determined to lose to the once great, fine-tuned and unstoppable scoring machine known as the Golden State Warriors.Even with the loss of Dennis Schroder, the Lakers just kept coming!It was if a Ferrari ran into a bulldozer on too narrow a highway.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers are still alive in the NBA playoffs, tied at one game apiece with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley are no longer part of the team this postseason after being dealt by the Lakers before the NBA's trade deadline in February and landing on teams that are done for the season.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

Paul George doesn't know when he will be ready to return from his sprained right knee, "but I'm gonna do whatever I can do to shorten the process," the All-Star forward said on his podcast.His Clippers also are not in any position to make long-term plans - but they're trying to do whatever they can to extend how long they are playing, just in case a return is possible.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

To avoid the play-in tournament, or hold onto home-court advantage for a first-round series, the Clippers need a big finish to the regular season.That will be more difficult to pull off with starts like Saturday's.Facing the New Orleans Pelicans, the Clippers lost the first five minutes of the first quarter by nine points.

LOS ANGELES To win a championship in the N.B.A., a team almost always needs at least one transcendent player.But the championship journey will also depend on how well a team's role players do their jobs.The Lakers, with 17 titles, know this well.Would they have won in 2010 without Metta Sandiford-Artest, or in 2002 without Robert Horry? Shaquille O'Neal, who won three championships for the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, often talks about the importance of the others the players who aren't stars.

As their postseason run continues, the Los Angeles Lakers have made a decision that if they do win three more rounds of the NBA playoffs and claim their 18th banner, no players' contributions will have been too small to celebrate; not even Patrick Beverley.They will all get championship rings.This is pretty much exactly what we predicted on this site back when Beverley reiterated that both he and Russell Westbrook would want some jewelry if their former team won the title, and TNT sideline reporter Chris Haynes confirmed as much during the network's pregame broadcast on Monday:

"They [Lakers] would extend a championship ring to ALL players who were on the roster at any point during this season."

The trade deadline was not without its fireworks and Toronto made sure to get involved with the league's annual fire sale.They reunited with center Jakob Poetl in an effort to bolster the center position yet, they will most likely be without the new acquisition as the deal has yet to be made official and they will have to try to take down Utah tonight.

By the time yesterday's 3:00 pm trade deadline took effect, most Raptors fans had already accepted the reality that would soon be confirmed by an Adrian Wojnarowski tweet: Toronto was not trading any of its core players.For some, this was confounding, even infuriating.For others, the news spawned a sigh of relief.

If there's a silver lining to this moribund Wizards season it's the possible emergence of Deni Avdija as more than an end of the rotation specialist.There will be caveats and "tap the brakes" warnings in this article, which I'll get to later.But first, let's look at what he's done the past week.

Yesterday, Patrick Beverley made sure to let Lebron know that he's too small.Tonight the Bulls are staying in LA to face the Clippers at Crypto.comArena in the second night of a back-to-back for Chicago.Is Pat Bev going to bring that same energy against Kawhi Leonard and another one of his former teams?

This year's trade deadline has already gotten off to a far bigger start than anyone could have hoped for, as superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been confirmed to be on the move.Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook, Jakob Poeltl, Mikal Bridges, D'Angelo Russell, and many more talented players have found new homes.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The image that returned Wednesday from the scan of Paul George's injured right knee provided about as good of news as the Clippers could have hoped: George's awkward land Tuesday after grabbing a rebound did not damage any ligaments - and the All-Star forward is not expected to need surgery, either.

3:10 PM ET



Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer

CloseOhm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006.Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade.He joined ESPNNewYork.comafter working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.

(Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

Four years ago, in the afterglow of one of the most transformative nights in Clippers franchise history, there were some within the organization who found themselves as excited by the additions of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as they were mournful over the cost.

Time and time again in recent years, Lakers fans have watched a young guard blossom from afterthought to impactful role player.From Alex Caruso to Talen Horton-Tucker (kind of!) to now Austin Reaves, the franchise keeps churning out guards regardless of whether they're second round picks or even drafted at all.

Every strong team Kawhi Leonard has been part of has met his same, personal criteria.It's not defensive rating.It's not assist-to-turnover ratio.It's not quantifiable at all."It's a feeling when you know you have a great team," the Clippers ' star wing said Sunday."It's not always [leading] to a championship, it's just about you knowing that everybody's on the same page.

When the Clippers arrived here late Saturday, they were without their winning streak and their coach.After coaching Saturday in a loss to Orlando in Los Angeles that ended the Clippers' turnaround at four consecutive wins, Tyronn Lue did not join the team on its flight to Oregon while recovering from what the team called a non-COVID-19 illness.

With a couple days off between games, it's time for a check-in on key stats and indicators for the 32-37 Washington Wizards.The Wizards currently sit 10th in the East, which would get them at least one play-in game.The team doesn't have a plausible scenario to reach the top six and avoid the play-in.

LOS ANGELES Draymond Green had been walking a tight rope for the last month as he sat one technical foul short of an automatic suspension.But the Warriors star slipped up Wednesday night, and it'll cost him a paycheck and a game.Green will serve his one-game suspension Friday in Atlanta after picking up his 16th technical foul.

Andrew Wiggins' absence isn't the sole reason the Warriors lost to the Clippers in Los Angeles.Nor is it the reason the Warriors haven't won a road game since January.But the Dubs' wing has been on an excused absence for family issues for 13 games now, and the team has no idea when he might return.And my goodness, they could have used him Wednesday.

Seeking stability in a season featuring little of it, the Clippers have turned to a player who wasn't on the roster until a month ago."I think he gives us a calmness when he is on the floor," coach Tyronn Lue said.Amid a rotation where playing time is constantly undergoing evaluation, the Clippers have needed little time to embrace the new face as part of the lineups most often closing out tight games.

Slipping down a San Francisco baseline past Phoenix's Chris Paul late Monday, Stephen Curry claimed a basket and the final word."This ain't 2014 no more," the Golden State star told his longtime combatant as cameras rolled.Paul later claimed he didn't know the reference, but on his podcast, Curry's Warriors teammate Draymond Green explained its laden meaning - that it had been that long since Paul could be considered the better player.

As they free fall in the standings, the odds of the Washington Wizards receiving a high pick keep rising.They currently hold the seventh best odds for the number one overall pick and Victor Wembanyama.However, it's still incredibly unlikely.His recent rival for the G-League Ignite seems much more likely to fall to the Wizards as he is projected to go either second or third depending on the source and on the team selecting.

The 2023 Los Angeles Lakers have been written off more than . . .well, than any politician still in power who you consider to be so gross it's hard to believe they're anywhere other than a jail cell or six feet under.The implication behind their continued existence is clear: powerful forces working behind the scenes can shape reality enough to determine which stories about it are told, and which are forgotten.

Austin Reaves' two seasons in Los Angeles have featured a lot of changes and new faces.In fact, he's been one of the few constants for the team over that span.He's seen lots of bad Lakers basketball and, more recently, lots of good Lakers basketball.On Friday, he played a pivotal role in one of the more fun wins of the season as they overcame a brutal third quarter to win going away in the fourth.

Kyle Kuzma, left, talks with teammate Kristaps Porzingis this week.Kuzma has missed time recently with a sprained ankle.(Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)The Washington Wizards made one of the first moves of trade deadline season more than two weeks ago, when they traded Rui Hachimura to the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 23 for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks.

The NBA trade deadline came and went and stars and role players alike have been spread across the association like an astronomical map.Much like our own solar system, the NBA's biggest move was heliocentric, with Kevin Durant reportedly joining forces with Devin Booker and Chris Paul on the Phoenix Suns.

After being involved in plenty of trade rumors and possibilities all season long, Miami doesn't make a single acquisition to bolster the roster prior to today's 3:00 PM ET deadline.The inactive day makes the Heat arguably one of the biggest losers of the deadline.There were more than enough options of guys out there that could have a made a real impact on this current Miami Heat roster.

The Miami Heat may have struck out at the NBA Trade Deadline, not landing a player, however, that doesn't mean that all hope is lost.With Russell Westbrook, almost assuredly, to be bought out by the Utah Jazz after being traded there from the Los Angeles Lakers, the reports indicate that the Miami Heat are among the two teams that Westbrook will be deciding over as the week progresses


Russell Westbrook is expected to make his final decision this week between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, per @ChrisBHaynes
- Sami Hassan (@BullsTimes) February 10, 2023


Looking over at Chicago, that's where his old coach, Billy Donovan, is.

The Lakers completely reworked their roster at the trade deadline, bringing in five new faces in the 24 hours before the deadline and six if you include Rui Hachimura, who was acquired in the weeks beforehand.Impressively, through all that dealing, the Lakers maintained an open roster spot to use in the buyout market.

The Los Angeles Lakers made a big splash on the day before the NBA trade deadline (and three more splashes on the day of) by agreeing to a three-team deal that saw them send out Russell Westbrook and a top-four protected, 2027 first-round pick in exchange for former Laker DeAngelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves, guard Malik Beasley and wing Jarred Vanderbilt from the Utah Jazz.