Russell Westbrook Trade Rumors: Lakers Have Training Camp as ‘Soft Deadline’ for Deal

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The NBA draft is long over and the height of free agency has passed, but a few remaining items must be ironed out on the Association’s 2022 offseason front.

Namely, there’s still the question of where Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, who has been the subject of trade rumors for months, will be playing next season.

That’s still unclear, but a report by Jovan Buha of The Athletic indicated a potential timeline:

“Now, to the second question, there will come a time in which the Lakers have to decide if they’re willing to continue to play hardball and risk missing their window to trade Westbrook. There is a sense among some that training camp is a soft deadline to move Westbrook. If he’s on the roster in late September, there will be a massive off-court distraction, with the media asking about his future, his relationship with [LeBron] James and the organization, [new head coach Darvin] Ham’s vision of his role and responsibilities.”

Westbrook, who exercised his $47.1 million player option for the 2022-23 season, averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in his first year with L.A.

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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