"The one move they have left is bring Russ off the bench" - Chris Broussard says the LA Lakers could do nothing at the trade deadline
The LA Lakers were unsuccessful in bringing in any new talent to the franchise at the trade deadline. Chris Broussard believes that Purple and Gold made the right decision by not making any major moves as they did not have any assets to get a star player. He also stated that the only big move left on the cards for the Lakers is to get Russell Westbrook off the bench.
The 53-year-old has been very critical of the LA Lakers' performances this year. However, Broussard is of the belief that by onboarding a player like John Wall, the Lakers would not be able to solve any of their problems.
While talking about the LA Lakers on the First Things First show, Broussard had some pretty interesting takes on the team. He said:
"There was nothing they could do, nobody has that much interest in THT and Kendrick Nunn, who hasn't played all year. Even if you traded them, they weren't going to bring back anything significant. Yeah, I do think John Wall would be a better fit with the Lakers than Russell Westbrook."
"But is he changing their fortunes, is he making them as good as Phoenix and Golden State, NO. So, I get them holding on to the pick, I don't think it wasn't a great pick, but I get them holding on to it. So, there was just wasn't anything for them to do that was going to shake up things."
Did the Lakers make a huge mistake not making a deal before the trade deadline?
"There was nothing they could do. The one move they have left is to bring Russ off the bench." — @Chris_Broussard https://t.co/rQaeURN1Gc
Chris Broussard believes Russell Westbrook coming off the bench would make some difference for the LA Lakers
Russell Westbrook has been constantly criticized by the media for his poor performances with the LA Lakers this season.
He is averaging only 18.3 PPG, which is the fewest for him since his sophomore season. Many have suggested that the best utilization of Russell Westbrook as an LA Lakers player, would be him coming off the bench. Speaking about the same, Broussard said:
"The one move they have left is bring Russ off the bench and what they need to do is sit down with Russ and show him film of Kevin McHale, the all-time great Hall of Famer, who came of the bench and John Havlicek, the all-time greater Hall of Famer, who came off the bench. If they could do it, Russ can do it, so that's what they gotta do, see if they can make that move."
RUSSELL WESTBROOK.
https://t.co/ItfPMm1WGh
Russell Westbrook has undoubtedly had a forgetful season so far. He has not looked like his usual self and is unable to impact the team like he is very capable of doing. However, trading him away for John Wall, who has not played a single game this season, would not make sense.
The 33-year-old had a bad start to his stint with the Washington Wizards last year. But once he was back from the All-Star break, there was no stopping him. He eventually finished the year averaging a triple-double and led the Wizards to the playoffs.
"If you took any three all-stars in the NBA and your body of work was 15 games, that's probably a small number of games to make any ultimate conclusions on." Rob Pelinka weighs in on Russell Westbrook's time with the #Lakers so far this season. https://t.co/OTxB4s3xKl
Russ has gotten the added motivation this year as he has been slandered by the media throughout his stint with the Lakers. He will be hoping to come all guns blazing and put on some impressive performances to lead the team into the playoffs.