Would trading Russell Westbrook help the winless Lakers? The answer is complicated

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s Lakers newsletter. It’s Times beat writer Dan Woike coming to you from the plane ride back to Los Angeles after an 0-2 road trip has left the Lakers 0-5.

Things aren’t looking too good early in the season and that’s made the team’s big decisions even harder to navigate.

Let me try to explain.

The choice

LeBron James’ phone played classic R&B music while he dressed in all black inside a mostly empty locker room.

His answers were short. His frustrations were long. And his team, it’s a bit of a mess.

Five games into the NBA season, the Lakers are winless and increasingly directionless, heading into a situation that rival scouts and executives paint as “lose-lose.”

There’s an incredibly complex equation in front of GM Rob Pelinka, co-owner and President Jeanie Buss and the rest of the team’s decision makers, one that only gets more complicated with each loss.

After another game during which it was clear that the Lakers just aren’t good enough, the pressure to make some sort of deal to change the construction of the roster had to increase.

The Lakers badly need shooting and so badly need an offensive boost that coach Darvin Ham joked about looking in the media room for someone who can put the ball in the hoop. Even though Russell Westbrook looked more comfortable in his first game as the primary ballhandler and playmaker for the team’s second unit, taking his $47-million contract and carving it into two or three capable offensive players is the surest way to make the team more competitive — at least offensively.

Lakers guard Russell Westbrook talks to a referee during Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)

The trouble is — and this comes through loud and clear in conversations with Lakers staff — is that while each game highlights the team’s weaknesses and needs for a roster upgrade, it also raises questions about the current team’s ability to realistically compete for a championship.

If the kinds of deals that could be available to the Lakers only marginally improve them — and that’s the belief many scouts and executives have shared — then should the Lakers be further mortgaging future draft assets to chase something they’ll almost certainly fail to attain?

One scenario that exists would be waiting to the offseason to make a major move, when the team could actually deal three first-round picks (the two future firsts in 2027 and 2029 and the one they’ll receive via swap from the Pelicans via the Anthony Davis trade) on draft night.

It’s set up for the Lakers to be forced to choose between the smart thing to do and the necessary thing to do. Ideally, those wouldn’t be separate choices.

Turning things around might not be as hard as it seems — one Lakers player quipped during the road trip that the answer would be simply “30%” three-point shooting. But, as one rival executive who recently scouted the Lakers put it, “we all knew they wouldn’t shoot. Look at the roster.”

The team is currently last in the NBA shooting just 23.7% from deep. The Golden State Warriors, currently ranked 15th, are shooting 36%.

The Lakers could certainly improve that number via trade if they’re willing to part with both future first-round picks. If they could continue to defend — they are currently ranked second in points allowed per 100 possessions — the Lakers would be in line to win more games with even marginally better shooting.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis controls the ball during a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Yet it’s not that simple — and that’s because Davis is again dealing with an injury with James and Westbrook implying that the toll on fighting off physical issues is weighing on him.

“He has to do what’s best for his body. He has to do what’s best for his body and his mind. If his mind is gone, then everything else will fall to the wayside,” James said after the Lakers lost to Minnesota on Friday. “So, he has to trust himself. Yes, he wants to play every game. Yes, he wants to be out there for our team. But he’s had a lot of bumps and bruises over the last few years, so he has to trust himself, trust his staff and not put his body in harm’s way.”

Westbrook, unprompted, mentioned the same sentiment in saying he was pleased with how the Lakers looked on Friday.

“I feel good about today. AD is taking care of his body, which is most important,” Westbrook said. “Make sure his mind is in the right place, because I think that’s the most important part of any injury. When he comes back, we’ll be ready to go, and hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.”

If Davis isn’t 100% physically or mentally, then what’s the point of any of this? He means that much to the team’s success, but holding off his return means more of these gloomy postgame sessions, James’ march toward the scoring record coming without the winning that has defined his career.

So is it sooner, later or never when it comes to making a move?

Those are the choices facing the Lakers, and no matter which they choose, getting it right might be impossible.

Song of the week

LCD Soundsystem “I Can Change”

With Westbrook now seemingly embracing a new role as a second-unit leader, it’s a good reminder that it’s never too late to learn a new trick.

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Will Smith just gave the Lakers a lesson on ‘togetherness’ and ‘gratitude’

Russell Westbrook sits out as Lakers remain winless with loss to Nuggets

Lakers ‘should be mad and frustrated’: Takeaways from loss to Trail Blazers

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