Should Lakers cut Russell Westbrook if no trade materializes?

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham remains committed to Russell Westbrook.

And, in maintaining loyalty to the team’s controversial point guard, Ham is deviating from an overwhelming majority of people who believe the team should rid itself of Russ at any cost. 

Ham has other ideas, per NBA reporter Marc Stein, who writes: “If no trade involving Westbrook materializes and if he is on the roster when the Lakers start practicing on Sept. 27, new Lakers coach Darvin Ham remains determined to carve out a real role for Westbrook.” 

The puzzle got even more complicated recently after the Lakers dealt for Patrick Beverley, whose long-standing beef with Westbrook has been widely chronicled since the nine-time All-Star accused Beverley of recklessly injuring his meniscus on a steal attempt in 2013.

The Lakers were aware of the disdain the two shared when they executed the trade, but that didn’t stop them from bringing Beverley on board. In “Undisputed” cohost Skip Bayless’ mind, it’s another reason to end the Westbrook partnership as quickly as possible. 

“The single-best exit strategy out from under him is to pay him and send him home,” Bayless said on Monday’s episode. “Addition by subtraction. He’s virtually untradable. … He will not allow a buyout, he’s got too much pride. … The best way to make the team better is just to dismiss him.”

Bayless emphasized that although Westbrook was a valuable guard at one point, his effectiveness has waned with age.

“He’s got the worst hands of any point guard I’ve ever seen,” Bayless said. “He was statistically the worst 3-point shooter in all of basketball, and he was the fourth-worst free-throw shooter. … He led the league in turnovers per game all the way to the last three when he sat.”

“It’s hard to overcome all of the above. It’s a volatile mix. … I just don’t know how you can find a real role. The translation for that is, ‘How can we hide Russell Westbrook for 20 minutes a game?’ Well, how do you hide him? I don’t know how.”

Shannon Sharpe agreed with his cohost.

“The thing is, everybody knows the Lakers want to get up off of Russ,” Sharpe said. “[Teams] want those two draft picks, they don’t want Russ. They’re going to have to get assurances from Russ and his representatives: You’re getting bought out.”

Westbrook is set to make the most money this season that he has as a pro: $47.1 million, and that’s a huge reason teams are cautious about entering into negotiations for him. Moreover, the Lakers are reluctant to cut him because they’d lose that cap space. 

So, can the Lakers find a suitable trade partner, or will they figure out a way to make him mesh with one of his biggest rivals? Neither option seems likely.

“Is Russ going to be accepting of the role?” Sharpe said. “He’s the third-best player on the team. He’s not going to be the primary decision-maker, he’s not going to be the primary ball-handler, he’s not going to be the first or second scoring option. So, what role is he going to accept? He only sees himself as a younger version of himself. He doesn’t see the man that’s aging.”