Report: Russell Westbrook Acquired By The Lakers
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Long Beach native Russell Westbrook is headed back to the Southland, according to an ESPN report.
Following news of the trade, Lakers legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to share his excitement, writing, "Bringing Russell Westbrook to the Lakers is VERY exciting and will definitely make the Lakers a championship contender next season!"
Laker Nation, the blockbuster trade that's bringing Russell Westbrook to the @Lakers is VERY exciting and will definitely make the Lakers a championship contender next season!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) July 30, 2021
He also called the 32-year-old point guard the "most electric player in the NBA today."
Westbrook is a nine-time NBA All-Star and a nine-time All-NBA Team member who earned the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for the 2016-17 season and was back-to-back NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016. He led the league in scoring in 2014-15 and 2016-17. On May 10 of this year, he passed Oscar Robertson for the most career triple doubles in NBA history.
He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and earned third-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10. He was drafted as the fourth overall pick in 2008 by the Seattle Supersonics the same week the team relocated to Oklahoma City.
Westbrook has represented the U.S. national team twice, winning gold in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics.
He was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2019. The following season, he was traded to the Washington Wizards.
ESPON reports the Lakers will also get a 2024 second-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and and the No. 22 pick in Thursday night's draft.
The trade will not be made official until the new league year starts Aug. 6.