Latest On Russell Westbrook Trade Talks + RJ Barrett To Los Angeles?

Los Angeles Lakers Rumors and News on today’s Lakers Report by Chat Sports - Chase Senior breaks down the following topics:

#1: Lakers trade rumors on Russell Westbrook have picked back up, with Michael Scotto and Jovan Buha discussing noise on trade talks with the Pacers and Jazz as well as the Lakers’ backup plans if a Russell Westbrook trade does not take place.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
- As far as Westbrook’s trade market, I’ve heard Indiana and Utah are the two most likely destinations. I think Utah is, from what I’ve been told, more likely than Indiana. There are several permutations there with Indiana where it could be Myles Turner and Buddy Hield together or one of the two.

Marc Stein on Substack:
- Yet I am also hearing that, 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. Sources say that the Lakers, to date, have strongly resisted the idea of shelving Westbrook completely until they can find a trade for him like the Rockets tried last season with John Wall — even after trading for longtime Westbrook adversary Patrick Beverley.

Would you give Russ the John Wall treatment? Type ‘Y’ for Yes, Type ‘N’ for No

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#2: Donovan Mitchell trade chances might be dwindling after the RJ Barrett extension, but that hasn’t stopped rumors from swirling about Los Angeles hopping in as the 3rd team in a Jazz-Knicks-Lakers trade. Could a surprise RJ Barrett trade to the purple and gold take place?

RJ Barrett highlights have only improved since he was the #3 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and his numbers have too:
- 2019-20: 14.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 40.2 FG%, 32.0 3P%
- 2020-21: 17.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 44.1 FG%, 40.1 3P%
- 2021-22: 20.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 40.8 FG%, 34.2 3P%
- Career: 17.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35.7 3P%

#3: Lakers rumors over the weekend circulated around Austin Reaves’ role next season - The Athletic reports “chatter out of the organization” that Reaves is slated to start AND close games alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Austin Reaves highlights the experience of hitting the “rookie wall” in a recent article:
- Probably a little bit of everything. I’ve never played a season over 37 games – 40 games at max. So I played 61 games this year, but the 82-game season, and I was traveling still when I wasn’t playing. So it’s definitely a thing. But honestly, at the end of the day, I felt like there was not an excuse for me missing shots. I gotta make shots, even if it’s late in the year, early in the year, whatever it is. I have confidence in myself, with all the work that I’ve put in, to make shots in those situations.

Should Reaves start for the Lakers? Type ‘S’ for Starter, Type ‘B’ for Bench