Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without star center Anthony Davis after he suffered an injury to his right foot.

Per The Athletic and Stadium's Shams Charania, Davis is expected to miss one month.

Davis was able to stay mostly healthy to start this season. He only missed three of the Lakers' first 28 games. The eight-time All-Star suffered the foot injury during their 126-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 16.

After favoring his foot early in the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham removed Davis in the first quarter to receive medical attention. He did return in the second quarter, but didn't score during that eight-minute stretch.

Davis sat out the entire second half. ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported he was experiencing "discomfort" in his foot and would likely undergo an MRI.

Durability has been a problem for Davis for most of his tenure with the Lakers. He only played in 76 games over the previous two seasons combined.

Davis is off to arguably the best start of his career so far this season. The 29-year-old is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He is shooting a career-high 59.3 percent from the field.

During a nine-game stretch from Nov. 13-Dec. 4, Davis averaged 35.3 points and 15.6 rebounds per contest.

The Lakers don't have a lot of depth on their roster anyway, let alone enough to compensate for losing one of their two best players. LeBron James will have to shoulder a heavier burden on the offensive end of the court.

Thomas Bryant will replace Davis in the starting lineup for the time being. He's been effective in a limited role, averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 14 appearances.

The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly showed interest in reacquiring Kyle Kuzma, which Washington Wizards forward believes is a compliment.

"I think it just shows you the grass is not always greener," Kuzma told Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports. "It's definitely a good thing because at the end of the day, that means I've been playing well and I have value in this league that a team would want to trade for me. It's a blessing."

Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes first reported the Lakers' interest in Kuzma, noting the Wizards don't want to deal away the 27-year-old:

Lakers have "inquired" about trading for Kyle Kuzma, per @ChrisBHaynes

(via B/R live show) https://t.co/RWPcDVG9Hv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 14, 2022

Kuzma is averaging 21.3 points per game, which would be a career high, to go with 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Washington acquired Kuzma in the 2021 deal that brought Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles.

Kuzma had spent his first four years with the Lakers, contributing both as a go-to offensive player and as an energy option off the bench. He averaged 15.2 points per game during this time there, helping the team win the NBA title in 2020.

Despite his production, the 6'9" forward was constantly the subject of trade rumors before eventually being dealt to the Wizards.

"I always look back and wish I would've gotten the fairer end of the stick a little bit, just with my role and how much I sacrificed," Kuzma said.

The trade has paid off for him personally, averaging 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in his first season before breaking out in 29 games this year. The Wizards have struggled as a team with an 11-19 record, although the Lakers haven't fared much better at 12-16. Both squads are 12th in their respective conference.

Kuzma has a $13 million player option for next season, although his improved play in 2022-23 makes testing free agency a smart move.

Haynes reported the Wizards are "open to signing him to a long-term extension," but it's clear there is plenty of interest in Kuzma around the league.

For months, Russell Westbrook has been featured in trade rumors. It has seemed a certainty that the 34-year-old point guard will be on the move prior to the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 9.

As that date gets closer, the most probable landing spot for Westbrook appears to be ... to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers?

That's right. According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, the Lakers may opt to keep Westbrook, who has been performing much better since his early-season struggles. He's thrived while serving as Los Angeles' sixth man, which may not be how the team envisioned using him, but it's worked out thus far.

"According to a source with knowledge of the Lakers' plans, Westbrook's play this past month has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline," Amick wrote.

Westbrook is averaging 14.7 points, 7.6 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 27 games, only three of which he has started (and none since Oct. 23). He's recorded a triple-double twice over Los Angeles' past four games, including in its win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

The Lakers still need to find a way to get going, as they had lost four of five games prior to that victory over Denver, which improved their record to a mere 12-16. Los Angeles will likely need to make at least one trade if it hopes to make a push into the playoffs.

Is it the right move to keep Westbrook as part of the core, or should the Lakers be shopping him as a piece in one of their probable potential moves?

Westbrook doesn't seem to be a long-term fit in Los Angeles, and even if he doesn't get dealt, it's unlikely he'll be back next season. After making $47.06 million in the 2022-23 campaign, Westbrook is set to become an unrestricted free agent during the upcoming summer.

But the Lakers don't have much draft capital to part with, considering they have only two first-round picks the rest of the decade. It's unlikely a team would take on Westbrook's salary without acquiring one (if not both) of those selections.

Los Angeles may be better off making a trade in which it adds complementary players to its core trio (Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis) and possibly doesn't have to give up its most significant draft capital. Is such a trade available? That isn't known, but it's worth the team pursuing.

It would also be smart for the Lakers to remain open to the possibility of a Westbrook trade, depending on the offers they may receive. Perhaps his improved play has boosted his value and could impact the type of return Los Angeles could get for him.

Unless that happens, the Lakers will probably be right to keep Westbrook and try to make a playoff push by making a different trade and hoping they can get rolling. If Westbrook continues to play well, he could serve a key role in helping Los Angeles reach the postseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers are believed to be interested in pursuing trades in hopes of improving their mediocre roster this season, and the team reportedly has some astronomical aspirations.

According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha on Saturday, the Lakers (12-16) have their eyes set on three superstar players as dream trade targets.

"In the ultimate pie-in-the-sky scenario, the Lakers have interest in Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal if any of the three stars were to become available," Buha wrote.

However, Lillard can't be traded until July 9 because he signed a two-year max extension with the Porland Trail Blazers (16-13) this past offseason.

On Dec. 15, players who signed free-agent contracts became eligible to be traded this season. Per Buha, the 74 additional players in the trade pool means "approximately 89 percent" of the league is able to be included in deals going forward.

Durant sent shockwaves through the NBA over the summer when he reportedly requested to be traded away from the Brooklyn Nets.

The 12-time All-Star ultimately decided to move forward with Brooklyn this season, and his decision is starting to pay off. The Nets (18-12) have won five straight games and nine of their last 10 to move up to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It's unlikely they will be looking to trade Durant any time soon, as he leads the team with 29.9 points per game.

Beal has once again struggled to stay healthy this year and hasn't played since Dec. 4 because of a lingering hamstring injury. In his 18 appearances, he's averaged 22.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists. The Wizards have not been able to put things together this year at 11-18, and they might be willing to move on from their star shooting guard for the right price.

Buha named DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Kyrie Irving and Doug McDermott as other players who have been linked to the Lakers in trade discussions. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported earlier this week that Los Angeles has also had talks about Bojan Bogdanović of the Detroit Pistons, as well as Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish of the New York Knicks.

It would appear that any of those players would be more realistic pursuits than Durant, Beal or Lillard.

Los Angeles Lakers star point guard Russell Westbrook was once resistant to the possibility of coming off the bench, but after Friday night's performance against the Denver Nuggets, it's clear that he has fully embraced his new role.

Westbrook dropped a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to help lead the Lakers to a 126-108 victory at crypto.com Arena. It's his second triple-double in a week, becoming the only player in franchise history ever to record multiple triple-doubles off the bench in a single season.

LeBron James led the way with 30 points in the victory, his third consecutive 30-point game.

The 2017 NBA MVP brought an unmatched energy in the second half of Friday's game, which the Lakers needed after star big man Anthony Davis left the game at halftime because of a foot injury. Westbrook's effort helped facilitate a 21-point performance from backup center Thomas Bryant.

After a rough start to the season, Westbrook has now earned the respect of NBA Twitter. Fans on social media had no choice but to praise him for his strong showing against the Nuggets:

This has to be the most COMPLETE game that Russ has played in a Lakers uniform tonight. The Brodie is putting on a damn Clinic on both ends of the floor!!! Carry the hell on..,

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 17, 2022

did you apologize to Russell Westbrook yet??

— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) December 17, 2022

Fill in the blank: This is the ____________-best Russell Westbrook game of his Lakers’ tenure …

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) December 17, 2022

There are three triple doubles off the bench in the Lakers 75-year history. Magic has one. Russell Westbrook has the other two. This week.

— Chris Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) December 17, 2022

Westbrook had a triple-double in a Lakers victory they’re never moving him.

— Colb (@___Colb___) December 17, 2022

Love LeBron front-running, stat-padding, after Westbrook did the heavy lifting.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook in 30 minutes: 15 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 2 Steals, +25. He's always made his teammates better & now that he's in the right role under Darvin Ham, Russ is back to doing exactly that.#LakeShow

— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) December 17, 2022

Westbrook off the bench this season:

— 15/6/8
— 1st in triple-doubles
— 1st in assists
— 1st in 10/5/5 games

6th man of the year? pic.twitter.com/I3zeYRyCem

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 17, 2022

A lot going on tonight for the Lakers but not to be overlooked: A very strong performance from Russell Westbrook in Anthony Davis’ absence. He’s up to 13 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals and the Lakers are a +23 in his 29 minutes.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook with 13-11-11. He's been spectacular.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 17, 2022

Big second half stat for Westbrook: Zero turnovers. AK

— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) December 17, 2022

Westbrook can make the game so easy when he feels like it.

— Waiting to Oxtail (@ThatDudeMCFLY) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/mtplug_grinder/status/1603990550750846976

Russell Westbrook has done an amazing job transitioning to this 6th man role. People don’t realize how hard of a switch that can be for guys who made a first ballot HOF career and millions playing one way and STILL have a lot of that ability.

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook is the 1st Laker in history to drop multiple triple-doubles in a single season while coming off the bench. pic.twitter.com/IhmkiijFUt

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 17, 2022

Triple double from the bench....give it up for Westbrook 🙌🏾

— Marley (@Ayooluwamarley) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1603985959137296396

https://twitter.com/jay_pea619/status/1603984036715630592

At 12-16, the Lakers are still trying to find consistency this season, but they have now won two of their last three games. With Westbrook settling into a groove, Los Angeles may have found a formula for success going forward.

The Lakers will look to keep the momentum going on Sunday when they host the Washington Wizards (11-18).

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis won't play Sunday against the Washington Wizards because of a foot injury, The Athletic's Shams Charania says.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Davis is expected to undergo an MRI on the injury.

Davis appeared to suffer an injury to his foot in the first quarter of the game when his leg collided with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. He didn't return to the game after halftime, finishing with 10 points in 17 minutes as the Lakers went on to win 126-108.

Davis has missed time with flu-like symptoms, lower back tightness and a left calf contusion this season, and injuries are nothing new for the future Hall of Famer. He appeared in just 40 games last season and 36 in 2020-21.

In fact, the 29-year-old has never played more than 75 games in a season and has reached the 70-game mark just twice since he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

That hasn't stopped him from building a resume that includes a championship, four All-NBA selections, eight All-Star nods, three block titles and a spot on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

The Kentucky product's individual brilliance is one reason there is still hope in Los Angeles despite a slow start to the season, and he is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

While the Lakers can't realistically expect to replicate Davis' production while he is sidelined, look for Thomas Bryant to see more playing time.

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make a trade, it's not going to be until the end of December at the earliest, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

However, Buha added that the Purple and Gold "have an urgency to get a deal done sooner than later," but they are "at the mercy of the trade cycle and the other teams' developing motives."

The Lakers have been one of the worst teams in the Western Conference this season, entering Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets with an 11-16 record. Having to fill out their roster with players on veteran minimum deals has really hurt their chances of capitalizing on having both LeBron James and Anthony Davis in L.A.

While the Lakers are looking to bring in some players, everyone aside from James and Davis is likely on the trade block. Buha lists Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn as the names that stand out.

The Lakers have long expressed interest in trading Westbrook since he turned in a subpar performance in 2021-22. However, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Thursday that Westbrook's improvement throughout the month of December "has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline."

The 34-year-old became L.A.'s sixth man in late October, and he has averaged 15.2 points, 7.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds since then. Additionally, he's averaging 28.2 minutes per game.

It's not surprising that the Lakers could be interested in moving Beverley and Nunn as both players have been disappointing this year.

Beverley, who was acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, is averaging 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 21 games while shooting 30.3 percent from the floor and 25.4 percent from deep.

Nunn, meanwhile, is averaging 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 23 games while shooting 35.9 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from deep.

In terms of players the Lakers might be interested in bringing in, they have been linked to Bojan Bogdanović, Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Kyrie Irving and Doug McDermott, per Buha.

The Purple and Gold would also have interest in Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal if they were made available.

In any circumstance, the Lakers need to decide whether they would be open to parting with their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks. If they make those selections available, the return would be more significant.

After some dominant performances last week, New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson and Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis headline the fifth batch of ratings updates for NBA 2K23.

Williamson made the biggest leap this week, getting a four-point boost to 92 overall. The 22-year-old has scored over 30 points in four out of his last seven games. On the season, he's averaging 25.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 61.0 percent from the field.

Despite the Lakers' struggles, Davis has looked like one of the best players in the NBA. He's had at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in five out his last six appearances, the only outlier being when he exited early against the Cleveland Cavaliers because of an illness. For his efforts, Davis was bumped up one point to 94 overall.

Other notable players to get a ratings increase this week are Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (89, +1), Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis (87, +2) and Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson (85, +1).

The Los Angeles Lakers seem very happy with Russell Westbrook's play off the bench.

So much so, in fact, that reports continue to emerge that the team won't deal the $47 million man in an effort to build a better roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The latest such report came from Sam Amick of The Athletic, who wrote on Thursday: "According to a source with knowledge of the Lakers' plans, Westbrook's play this past month has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline."

Westbrook, 34, has responded well to moving to the bench. In 14 November games he averaged 15.6 points and eight assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three.

That production has dipped somewhat in seven December games (13.7 PPG, 8.3 APG, 7.9 RPG, 41.4 percent from the field, 15 percent from three), though it's still been an improvement from Westbrook's struggles last season.

The Lakers, in turn, have responded to a 2-10 start to the season by winning nine of the last 15 games. While they will likely spend much of the season trying to dig themselves out of the hole they created, the angst over Westbrook's fit into the team seems to have waned.

Still, Westbrook's massive contract and the fact that his ball-handling style of play and poor perimeter shooting doesn't mesh well with James means trading him would still be the most logical route toward building a better and more well-rounded roster around James and AD.

The Lakers, quite simply, need more shooting and better defense; Westbrook isn't going to provide either.

As The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported earlier in December, the Lakers have seen a Westbrook trade—which would likely include giving up draft compensation as well—as one potential avenue to fix their roster issues. The second would be to "trade some combination of Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and picks (one first-round and/or multiple second-round picks) for role players who better address needs and upgrade the rotation."

And the third route would be some combination of the aforementioned approaches.

Per Amick, the team's "dream scenario" is a star player on a struggling team becoming available via trade. For now, that hasn't materialized. And it sounds as though the Lakers are content, for the moment, letting things play out with Westbrook in the sixth man role.

If the Los Angeles Lakers move on from Patrick Beverley this season, the veteran has a "desire to return" to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Fischer outlined a scenario where Beverley could be traded to the Detroit Pistons before reaching free agency via buyout.

The 34-year-old likely wouldn't want to be part of a rebuilding situation after reaching the playoffs in each of the last four years with the Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers. Beverley spent the 2021-22 season with Minnesota, helping the squad return to the postseason for just the second time since 2004.

Beverley was a fan favorite in Minnesota, providing one of the more iconic moments of last season when the Timberwolves won their play-in game to make the playoffs:

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1514108990006996997

Even though Minnesota traded him in July, he thought highly of the fanbase and said, "We kind of revamped the environment there."

Beverley went to the Utah Jazz in the trade that brought Rudy Gobert to Minnesota before being flipped to Los Angeles. Things haven't gone smoothly since the deal; he's averaging just 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for a squad that is 11-16.

It could force the Lakers to make another trade to get back on track.

The Timberwolves also haven't had a great year at 13-15 despite lofty expectations.

When the Lakers played Minnesota in October, T-Wolves coach Chris Finch noted Beverley's impact.

"He was an outstanding professional in his habits, and his routine was one that younger players could see and mimic," Finch told reporters. "Mostly, he was a tone-setter. That's what we were looking for a little bit now; who is going to be our tone-setter? We haven't had a single guy step forward yet."

A reunion could be the best-case scenario for all parties.