The Los Angeles Lakers have made their fair share of excellent trades over the history of the franchise, although one failed deal continues to haunt them.
Between the 1976 trade that landed them the draft rights to Magic Johnson, the draft-night swap in 1996 that got them Kobe Bryant, and the 2025 deal for Luka Doncic, the Los Angeles Lakers have been on the receiving end of some of the best trades in NBA history.
However, even the league’s flashiest franchise is not immune from blunders. After weeks of speculation, on August 6, 2021, the Lakers traded Isaiah Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma for Russell Westbrook.
The “big three” of Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis missed the playoffs in their only full season together, and Westbrook’s tenure with the Lakers was one of the worst moves that the franchise made, although at the time it was touted as an excellent move.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty ImagesLakers were commended for trading for Russell Westbrook
In 2020, the Lakers won the NBA Finals, the only banner James and Davis brought to Hollywood. The following year, they lost in the first round to the Phoenix Suns, and it was clear that their roster needed an overhaul.
Westbrook was coming off his fourth season averaging a triple-double, and the last year where he would receive MVP votes, although at the time, he was still in his prime and expected to help James win another ring.
“If he ends up with the Lakers, obviously, even though they were in the championship picture last year before AD and LeBron periodically went down, definitely Russell Westbrook elevates your chances,” said ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith in the days before the trade.
The Lakers didn’t have to give up a star in return for Westbrook, and depth pieces like Carmelo Anthony, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Austin Reaves were expected to step up, although Westbrook was expected to be the engine.
“When you have a guy like Russell Westbrook and LeBron James on the same team, they weigh heavy on you,” said Kendrick Perkins in August of 2021. “Russell Westbrook has never played with a big like Anthony Davis. Good luck trying to stop that pick and roll with Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis…I see them coming out of the West. I actually see them winning the title.”
Of course, the Lakers would only win 33 games in Westbrook’s first season, flipping him to the Utah Jazz for pennies on the dollar the following season.
Lakers still feel the effects of the trade four years later
In the summer of 2021, the Lakers added Westbrook, Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, and other players who ended up being past their prime.
To make room for those aging stars, the Lakers did not retain Dennis Schroder, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Andre Drummond, all of whom are solid role-players, even today.
Laughably, Westbrook, then 32 years old, was expected to outlast James, giving Davis a long-term running mate for after LeBron retired.
“LeBron James needs Russell Westbrook for the simple fact that he’s getting up in age,” Perkins outlined. “Russell Westbrook is still 32, which means he’s still in his prime.”
Westbrook is yet to sign a contract this summer, while James is still dominating.
In 2021, the Lakers added 14 players in the summer while letting go of the same number.
Of the 14 added, only three are still in the NBA. Of the 14 that left, five of them are in the league, and all of them are productive players still.