Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has informed the team he will formally exercise his player option for the upcoming season. The option is set to pay the former MVP $47.1 million for the upcoming season. Despite a disappointing season in general, the Los Angeles Lakers are still looking to compete for another NBA Championship. Injuries and poor play kept the Lakers out of the 2022 NBA Playoffs and play-in games this season. It is likely the Lakers will at least gauge the interest of Westbrook and his expiring contract.
Russell Westbrook is opting in to his $47.1 million player option with the Lakers for the 2022-23 season, sources confirm to The Athletic.
The 33-year-old Westbrook averaged 18.5 PPG on 44.4% shooting from the field last season. pic.twitter.com/qtY7jp1Bwm
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) June 28, 2022
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the position where they’d prefer to move on from Russell Westbrook but don’t want to take on contract money past this season. Those two goals may likely contradict themselves and the Lakers have seemingly prepared themselves to have Westbrook on the roster this upcoming season. The two sides seem content with that moving forward, but a trade could still happen.
“The Lakers front office & coaching staff want to see it work in Los Angeles with Russell Westbrook” ~@ShamsCharania#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/UN9vXrlo0p
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 28, 2022
Russell Westbrook is a former MVP and a future Hall of Fame point guard. With a new Head Coach and a full year with the team under his belt, the hope is he will be able to help the team compete for an NBA Championship. The roleplayers that the team has could make a difference this year. Westbrook will likely never return to his MVP status, but there could still be a playoff run left in the point guard.
