Draymond Green is an invested NBA fan in addition to his position on the Warriors, and explained on his podcast why he believes the Los Angeles Lakers should not trade embattled point guard Russell Westbrook.
"The reality is, I'm not sure Russell Westbrook gets traded," Green said on "The Draymond Green Podcast." "If I'm guessing, just as an NBA fan, I don't really foresee it happening. Nor, do I think it really should happen.
"You haven't really had the opportunity to see that team healthy and how they could grow together healthy. I also don't like how Russell Westbrook gets all of the blame for everything going wrong. It's just not possible that one guy is to blame for everything going wrong."
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SIGN UP HERE In one of the most high-profile transactions of the offseason, the Lakers traded several valuable pieces to the Washington Wizards for Westbrook, after LeBron James and Anthony Davis reportedly pushed the Lakers to bring in the former MVP and LA native.
The 2021-22 season has not worked out exactly how the Lakers drew it up, as the team sits 24-24 and ninth in the Western Conference standings. LA is 26th in scoring defense and has the league's 23rd-ranked offensive rating, and hasn't looked like the title contender many expected.
Davis has been limited to just 28 games this season, while LeBron only has played in 36 as both players battle nagging injuries. Westbrook has played in all 48 of the Lakers' games this season, which might be part of the reason so much blame for the team's shortcomings has fallen upon the veteran guard.
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A 17-game absence for Davis finally ended Tuesday, so we should get an extended run of these three together on the court for the Lakers coming up.
If they can get hot and start climbing back up the West standings, perhaps we won't see Westbrook shipped out before the trade deadline. If the struggles continue, however, LA might be inclined to make a splashy move to try and re-position themselves as they try to maximize LeBron's talent while he is still playing.
Draymond happens to share an agent with both Davis and LeBron, so he might know the ultimate fate of the Lakers before most.