The Lakers reportedly are considering 3 trade options. This is the one they should do

As covered by our own Silver Screen and Roll on November 30th, the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly considering making smaller trades involving Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn instead of a more significant deal involving Russell Westbrook that would almost certainly include one, if not multiple, picks.

We recently got an update from Jovan Buha, who covers the Lakers for The Athletic, on the timeframe the Lakers are looking at and how they have three possible scenarios in mind.

For months, most of the trade chatter has centered around sending out Westbrook in a straight-up trade or involving multiple teams. The Lakers, however, have been reluctant to do so because teams around the league are requesting at least one first-round pick in return, considering Westbrook’s massive contract. It seems with any possible trade; the Lakers are waiting until after Dec.15th. On that date, players who signed deals during the offseason become eligible to be traded. That opens up a lot more possibilities for teams around the league and is the unofficial start to the NBA Trade Season which, let’s be honest, is your favorite season of the year.

With this latest update, it seems the Lakers may be considering riding out the season with Westbrook coming off the bench, and for me, that is the best course of action. Here are three reasons why I believe the Lakers should go with option two - trade some combination of picks, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn - and continue the sixth-man Westbrook experiment.

The Lakers have dealt with significant injuries in the last couple of years. Davis, who has a well-documented injury-filled past, has to his credit, been available for most of this season. That being said, Davis only played in 40 games last year and had already missed 88 of a possible 239 Lakers games coming into this season.

LeBron, who played in all 82 games the season prior to joining the Lakers, has had his injury problems the last few seasons. LeBron missed six of the Lakers’ 20 games this season and only played in 56 games last season. LeBron hasn’t played in more than 67 games in any season since joining the Lakers.

Then there is the possibility of resting Davis and LeBron in back-to-back scenarios, which makes having another player like Westbrook who can get their own shot and occasionally still take over a game. No, this isn’t MVP Westbrook or even Washington Wizards Westbrook, but he has played better since coming off the bench and can still have flashes of his previous dominance.

In short, keeping Westbrook gives the Lakers at least some cover for the inevitable LeBron or Davis missed games.

As the entire worlds know by now, the Lakers got off to a rough start. The Lakers started the season 2-10 and seemed to be already playing themselves out of playoff contention one month into the season. They have played better since going 6-2 and were a buzzer-beater away from being 7-1. When you look at the numbers, the Lakers aren’t as bad as the 8-12 record suggests.

The Lakers currently rank in the top 10 in rebounding, points in the paint, opponents shooting percentage, opponent’s 3-point shooting percentage, and fast break points. Even opponent’s points per game, they are ranked 18th, and considering how bad they looked at times last year and this year on defense, that is a minor miracle. If you squint hard enough at these numbers and the Lakers’ recent play, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and a significant trade involving Westbrook may shoot themselves in the foot just as things are coming together for a...gasp...playoff run.

As mentioned earlier, the Lakers have been rumored to be engaged in trade talks since the offseason, but one sticking point has continued to come up: the possibility of including their first-round picks.

Part of this was because, at the time of this report, the Lakers were struggling, but it also has to do with the Lakers’ complicated future picks. Our Silver Screen and Roll explains the complicated future draft situation here. As you can see, it involves a lot of moving parts.

Bottom line, the Lakers currently can only trade their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. Maybe they would be more willing to move one of these picks, or both, with continued good play, but if they are playing better with Westbrook, why give away draft capital to move him? Ultimately the upcoming east coast trip will play a significant factor in the Lakers trade thinking.

Moving Beverly or Nunn will probably not return you a considerable haul. Nunn missed all last year, and Beverly is a role player at best (and a pretty nasty one at that). Even so, if they are smart, they can bring back a player that better fits the current roster.

The Lakers are one of the worst shooting teams from the three-point line in the league, so it would make more sense to focus on smaller deals that could bring back a better shooter. I know that is not easy because teams aren’t in the business of giving away shooters for nothing but holding onto Westbrook, and especially your first-round picks, makes more sense considering they don’t know what picks they will have to give to New Orleans in the coming years in one of the various pick swaps they owe from prior deals.