Well, that certainly did not take long. With the 2021-22 NBA regular season coming to a halt, the Indiana Pacers failed to dodge the farcical mill, now becoming the subject of noise pertaining to them being a possible dumpster for Russell Westbrook and the dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers.
As the Lakers insist on creating wiggle room largely withheld by Westbrook’s albatross contract to make massive roster revisions, the trade machine aficionados are already starting to scorn the realms of rational team management, handpicking the Pacers to somehow save LA from its shipwreck.
The Indiana Pacers are smart enough to evade Russell Westbrook and the Lakers’ wrecking ball
NBA insider Marc Stein floated the idea of the Lakers dangling Westbrook away for Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield, using draft compensation as corresponding sweeteners. However, he himself pointed out that the Pacers would have to really love the draft picks to even consider engaging in such a deal. After all, keeping Westbrook is almost out of the equation.
Still, despite efforts to rationalize potential engagements right from the get-go with a trade idea that actually makes sense, social media has turned what was a cursory suggestion into a fantasy-laden groundwork for golden nothing with a dash of purplish gloom.
There are loads of reasons why the Indiana Pacers will not entertain whatever the Lakers offer to jettison Russell Westbrook, but for sanity’s sake, trimming them down is necessary.