Wow, it really happened. I won’t lie, I didn’t think it would happen before the deadline. After what feels like forever of waiting for the trade to finally happen, it did. The Lakers got a great return, making it seem worthwhile to wait. I was not expecting Vando to be in the trade! They got 3 starting caliber players for a lightly protected first and a gigantic expiring. The Lakers just made themselves a likely playoff team with this trade, and didn’t even have to trade both firsts. The post LeBron firsts were more valuable than we thought. The Lakers may have just turned their season around.

I don’t like this for the Timberwolves. While they probably needed to get rid of D’Lo, they can fo better than a second and a 35 year old worse PG.

I also don’t like this for the Jazz, and the inclusion of Jarred Vanderbilt makes this very questionable. Tons of teams were asking about Rodman 2.0, and this is the best they could do? They wanted a first for Beasley, Conley, and Vando seperately, and they got one. While they’ll have an insane amount of cap space, they could’ve gotten more, less valuable picks. They’ll likely buy out Westbrook, making him a free agent now.

Russell Westbrook is an interesting player. He’s intense and can be clamps on defense. He’s never scared to get to the basket and draw a foul or finish through contact. He’s great as a microwave scorer. But his inability to shoot and consistency holds him back from being a starter and makes him not a portable player. The Clippers could be interested in him, they’ve been looking for a point guard. They aren’t lacking in shooting. The Wizards could also be looking for a reuinition with their former star as they are struggling without a solid point guard. Russ has been real good off the bench this year, and some teams might be looking at him.

At the end of the day, the Lakers are gonna be a great team for the rest of the year. Wherever Russell Westbrook signs, I’ll support him for the rest of his career. Just needed to air my immediate thoughts.