I guess my top three will probably be again Houston, New York and Charlotte, based on what I’ve heard and what other people have reported.
Source: Spotify
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
StatMuse @statmuse
40/10 games in a season since merger:
13 — Joel Embiid (this season)
12 — Russell Westbrook (2017)
12 — Moses Malone (1982)
The last 2 names won MVP that year. pic.twitter.com/NkFlxLbewL – 3:49 PM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Joel Embiid today:
✅ 41 PTS
✅ 20 REB
✅ 14-17 FG
It’s the 13th time Embiid has recorded at least 40p/10r in a game this season.
He breaks a tie with Moses Malone (1981-82) and Russell Westbrook (2016-17) for the most such games in a single season since the ABA-NBA merger. pic.twitter.com/U0ieuSx3L5 – 3:27 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Westbrook demanding to bring ball up court, other ways his fit at core of Lakers troubles nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/09/wes… – 2:31 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook join LeBron James (and Kendrick Nunn) on the bench for the season finale in Denver. All ruled OUT: pic.twitter.com/opWVabSeWP – 2:30 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
LeBron win percentage
.728 with Kyrie
.684 with AD
.685 with Wade
.627 with Ilgauskas
.455 with Westbrook pic.twitter.com/1EpNg2uHr0 – 1:12 PM
Justin Kubatko @jkubatko
Trae Young became the ninth player in NBA history to record at least 700 FG made and 700 assists in a season:
✅ Oscar Robertson, 6x
✅ Nate Archibald, 2x
✅ Tim Hardaway, 2x
✅ Gary Payton, 2x
✅ Russell Westbrook, 2x
✅ Wilt Chamberlain
✅ Jerry West
✅ LeBron James
✅ Young pic.twitter.com/DPenqeLupl – 11:11 AM
Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
After watching the Lakers for 2 1/2 hours, LA shouldn’t be throwing Russell Westbrook under the bus, they should be throwing Russell Westbrook apologies from Jeanie Buss. – 12:59 AM
Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
The OKC Blue leads Russell Westbrook’s 2022 teammates after the 1st quarter. – 11:11 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
With LeBron, AD, Westbrook and Anthony out, LAL’s new starting lineup has had some good stretches these last two nights, but the end-of-bench group has struggled.
OKC took a 7-point lead late in the 1st Q before Gabriel and Ellington stopped a run with B2B 3’s. – 11:06 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Russell Westbrook trade rumors: Hornets a team to watch in potential deal for Lakers guard, per report
cbssports.com/nba/news/russe… – 10:05 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Vogel said Davis, Westbrook and Anthony haven’t been ruled out for Sunday’s finale at Denver. LeBron’s already out, due to the ankle. – 8:56 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Frank Vogel says AD, Melo and Westbrook have NOT been ruled out for Sunday yet. – 8:55 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Russell Westbrook last 10 games:
22.2 PPG
7.4 RPG
7.1 APG
52.1 FG%
41.5 3P% on 4.1 attempts
Finished the season strong. pic.twitter.com/IhheX2NVDc – 6:43 PM
Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
LeBron missed 1/3 of the season.
AD missed 1/2 of the season.
Westbrook only missed 1 game until LA was eliminated.
That game: LeBron & AD both played and lost to the tanking Blazers.
Russ put up 18.5/7.4/7.1 on the season.
Yet Westbrook is getting all the blame. Come on. – 5:16 PM
Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony are all out vs OKC tonight.
Thunder’s lottery odds are in the hands of the new Lakers Big 3: Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk and Austin Reaves. – 2:35 PM
Joe Mussatto @joe_mussatto
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Kendrick Nunn are out for the Lakers tonight. – 2:31 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
LeBron (out for the season), AD, Westbrook and Melo are out again tonight for the Lakers’ final home game: pic.twitter.com/NcqEFniqug – 2:28 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Lakers have not ruled out the possibility of using the waive-and-stretch provision on Westbrook sportando.basketball/en/lakers-have… – 9:42 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
THT breakout game:
40 PTS (career high)
3 REB
3 AST
4 STL
Horton-Tucker has a greater season high than Westbrook and AD. pic.twitter.com/tMWlAEOYG0 – 12:26 AM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
With no pressure on this game, and LeBron/AD/Westbrook/Melo all out, LAL have come out both loose and aggressive, taking an 11-4 lead 3 minutes in at Golden State.
Starters: THT, Monk, Reaves, Johnson and Howard – 10:11 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
Frank Vogel says LeBron, AD and Westbrook haven’t been ruled out for tomorrow’s game. Says they realize it’s the last home game and fan appreciation day. – 8:32 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
Carmelo Anthony (non-COVID illness) is out tonight, joining LeBron, AD and Westbrook. – 8:28 PM
Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA
The Lakers and Rockets are expected to revisit a Russell Westbrook for John Wall swap this summer, per @Marc Stein.
If Wall isn’t traded, “his representation at Klutch Sports is expected to work with the Rockets on a buyout agreement,” per @Michael Scotto. basketballnews.com/stories/if-roc… – 8:07 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
What comes next for Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers? nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/07/wha… – 8:00 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Lakers are sitting LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, raising the possibility that their once-hopeful superteam experiment has ended before it ever achieved anything of note: ocregister.com/2022/04/07/lak… – 4:23 PM
Ryan Ward @RyanWardLA
If you didn’t hear about it already, the Lakers’ Big 3 won’t play tonight in San Francisco, according to Lakers PR:
Anthony Davis (right mid-foot sprain), LeBron James (left ankle sprain) and Russell Westbrook (right shoulder soreness) are OUT for tonight’s game at Golden State. – 3:44 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Lakers: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook out tonight against Warriors sportando.basketball/en/lakers-lebr… – 2:57 PM
Mark Haynes @markhaynesnba
The Golden State Warriors could get an easy victory tonight with LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis out for the Lakers. – 2:19 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lakers rule out Anthony Davis (right mid-foot sprain), LeBron James (left ankle sprain) and Russell Westbrook (right shoulder soreness) for tonight’s game at Golden State. – 2:16 PM
Kyle Goon @kylegoon
The Big Three are out tonight against Golden State:
– LeBron with ankle soreness
– Anthony Davis with foot soreness
– Russell Westbrook with right shoulder soreness
The trio played 21 games together this season (11-10), and that might be all they ever play together. – 2:16 PM
Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Lakers say that LeBron James (Left ankle sprain), Anthony Davis (Right mid-foot sprain) and Russell Westbrook (Right shoulder soreness) are all OUT for tonight’s game vs. Golden State – 2:14 PM
Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook are listed out vs. Warriors tonight. – 2:13 PM
Mike Trudell @LakersReporter
LeBron (left ankle sprain), Davis (right mid-foot sprain) and Westbrook (right shoulder soreness) are all out against Golden State tonight. – 2:12 PM
Josh Martin @LonzoWire
Could the Hornets team LaMelo Ball up with Russell Westbrook? lonzowire.usatoday.com/2022/04/07/mar… – 1:41 PM
Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
Trading Russell Westbrook … options already on the Lakers’ board, what rival teams project, proceeding straight to waive-and-stretch … ALL covered in today’s piece: marcstein.substack.com/p/trading-russ… – 11:09 AM
More on this storyline
Another option that could (stress: could) present itself provided the Pacers like the idea: The Lakers have a well-documented interest in Buddy Hield, who came to Indiana along with Haliburton in the Sabonis trade, and might well offer Russell Westbrook and his $47.1 million expiring contract for Hield and Brogdon. With the Pacers presumed to have no interest in Westbrook beyond his expiring salary, such a swap figures to hinge on what sort of draft compensation the Lakers would be willing to furnish to sweeten the deal for the Pacers to participate and then (we can only imagine) part ways with Westbrook. -via marcstein.substack.com / April 9, 2022
Charlotte has been increasingly mentioned by league insiders as a team to watch on the Westbrook front. All-Star guard LaMelo Ball is firmly ensconced as the Hornets’ face of the franchise and on-the-ball star, but one scenario making the rounds is a belief that the Hornets could emerge with Westbrook interest in the name of creating some financial flexibility. Gordon Hayward has two seasons left on a four-year, $120 million contract and has appeared in only 49 of Charlotte’s 79 games this season. Terry Rozier has performed well this season, with an above-average PER of 17.36, but next season is Year 1 of a four-year, $97 million extension. -via marcstein.substack.com / April 7, 2022
The Lakers gain the ability to trade an additional future first-round pick in 2029 in July after having only the 2027 first to shop at the deadline, which increases their optionality with Houston or any other potential trade partner. It’s also conceivable that the Rockets, plenty weary of their own saga with Wall, could lessen their demands (two second-rounders?) as both Wall and Westbrook enter the final year of their current contracts. Unless the Rockets think they can trade Wall elsewhere, these discussions are bound to be renewed. -via marcstein.substack.com / April 7, 2022
