Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason and has been linked to the teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz.
Despite trying for a while, the Lakers were unable to move the nine-time All-Star to another team, and it looks like he will be with the Lakers to start the upcoming 2022-23 NBA regular season.
Of course, there’s still a chance the former league MVP could be traded before the regular season begins. NBA executives and scouts seem to think the Miami Heat would be an interesting landing spot for Westbrook.
“Even then, the team executives and scouts could only come up with one of potential landing spot: the Miami Heat”. “The team president Pat Riley has a history of cultivating fiery, competitive and aggresive players, from Alonzo Mourning to Jimmy Butler to Brian Grant. He hoped Kyle Lowry would be the finishing piece on another championship-caliber team last season, but after posting the best record in East, the team lost to Boston in the conference finals. Plagued by several nagging injuries, Lowry played in just 10 of their 18 postseason contests and was himself, averaging 7.8 points on 29.1 percent shooting. Depending on how this season pans out for the Heat in general and Lowry in particular, Westbrook could be worth the gamble.
“It makes sense,” said one Eastern Conference leader. “Miami Heat believes that they can rehabilitate anyone.”
Westbrook has not been linked to the Heat at all this offseason, so it would certainly be surprising if a deal was reached between the two sides.
Lowry and Heat shooting guard Duncan Robinson would likely be included in any hypothetical deal.
However, trade between the two sides does not seem that likely. Westbrook probably wouldn’t be a good fit in Miami, as he would have to play alongside Butler and Bam Adebayo, two players who have the ball in their hands a lot. Westbrook’s problem so far in Los Angeles has been that he hasn’t seemed to adapt well to off-ball roles.
Westbrook averaged 18.5 pts, 7.1 assists and 7.4 rebounds in 78 games last season. While those stats aren’t bad at all, Westbrook definitely took a step back.
The LA Lakers have failed to even make the postseason in 2021–22, finishing 33–49 and 11th in the Western Conference.
As for the Heat, they finished 53-29 and first overall in the Eastern Conference. Of course, the team made it all the way to the finals of the Eastern Conference, where they were lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games.
Miami didn’t have the busiest of offseasons, and the organization appears poised to bring its current core back this season. It would certainly be fun to see Westbrook play for the Heat, but it’s just a fantasy for now.