LeBron James anticipates a strong season from his Los Angeles Lakers colleague Russell Westbrook, who has been the subject of trade rumours all summer.
The four-time NBA MVP responded to a tweet concerning Westbrook's treatment during his underwhelming first season with the Lakers:
It's worth noting that LeBron didn't indicate whether Russ' return to form will occur as a Lakers player.
Following his reported trade to L.A., Patrick Beverley, who has a history of friction with Westbrook, also chimed in:
The status of the James-Westbrook relationship made news in July when they both attended one of the team's summer league games in Las Vegas but made no attempt to speak.
Westbrook has been linked to a number of potential moves in recent months, largely as a salary-cap move to help generate financial freedom to reconfigure the club following last season's disappointment—L.A. finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs.
However, much of that speculation was based on the Lakers' interest in Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving, James' former Cleveland Cavaliers colleague.
Los Angeles' route to a clear upgrade at the point is less certain now that the Nets are ready to run it back with the same core after Kevin Durant agreed to return.
As a result, the chances of Westbrook returning to the Lakers to begin the 2022-23 season are much better than they were when the previous season ended in April.
Despite the reports, new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham continually expressed enthusiasm about working with the 2016-17 NBA MVP:
However, Westbrook's return to prominence will be difficult, since he was ranked 232nd out of 250 qualified players in FiveThirtyEight's WAR formula last season.
If the 33-year-old UCLA product is once again a burden on both sides of the court in 2022-23, it will be nearly impossible for the Lakers to return to the title conversation.
But, according to James, a different Russ will appear in October, and if he's still with the Lake Show, it may propel the squad back into contention.
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