🏀 Russ To L.A.: A Trade Only The Lakers Could Pull Off

The Russ-to-L.A. move could be great or disastrous, but no matter which way it goes, it won’t be quiet. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Russell Westbrook being traded to Los Angeles is the most ‘Lakers kind of trade’ there could possibly be ... we take a look at how Alyssa Naeher came up huge for the USWNT ... and we are treated to a must-see video featuring childhood friends Jalen Suggs and Paige Bueckers. It is the kind of move that Los Angeles loves, the sort of thing that the Lakers, and perhaps only the Lakers, would have the ability to pull off and then expect it to work. Signing Russell Westbrook in a detailed and expansive trade is as splashy and flashy a play as is likely to happen during this NBA summer, so of course, yes, it was L.A. who are the ones about to do it. To borrow a phrase from baseball, it is a big swing, the kind of hack that aims not just to clear the fence but to send the ball out into the surrounding neighborhood. And it’s one that arguably the Lakers didn’t really need to make, yet did so anyway. It might turn out to be incredibly expensive and foolhardy, but those aren’t today’s problems, not if you’re sitting in the Lakers front office, enjoying the fact that it’s only 10 days since the championship officially passed into other hands but everyone is talking about your team again. There are so many questions surrounding the choice to offload Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (plus a draft swap) to the Washington Wizards, all in exchange for a guy who will now be on his fourth team in four years and whose true value is a point of variable belief and sometimes heated discussion. The simplest query is “why” but the answer to that, from the perspective of the purple-and-gold is the same as to all the other questions, and the same as always. “Why not?” [STORY IMAGE 1] That’s how the Lakers roll. We didn’t see this particular trade coming, but shame on us that we didn’t. It is the most Lakers kind of trade there could possibly be, one absolutely dripping with big name pizzazz, and the packing of another healthy helping of ego into a locker room that has hosted some mighty ones over the years. Were we really supposed to think those other trade rumors were going to be the ones to get over the line? That the Lakers were going to wheel and deal and pitch their tent for Buddy Hield, the Sacramento Kings’ energetic and earnest youngster? It could have happened, but once Westbrook emerged as a possibility, there was no way they were going to let that opportunity pass itself by. “About two weeks ago, Russell Westbrook went to LeBron James’ home and together they and Anthony Davis had a conversation about the All-Star guard joining James and Davis on the Lakers,” [wrote the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner](. “They talked about putting their egos aside and playing as one in their quest to bring the Lakers another NBA championship.” Have we ever heard that before? Hmm, what could possibly go wrong? [STORY IMAGE 2] There is a lot about this that we can’t pretend to know and that will be impossible to guess at, because to work out how a combination of James , Westbrook and Davis might look is also to imagine the deceptive means opposing head coaches will conjure up to thwart them, and that’s a level of complexity that’s beyond us here. And, of course, if they’ll all be able to get along. It is possible to see this going both ways, but no matter which way it does, it won’t be quiet. If the Lakers start winning and this pieced-together trio starts to shine, there is going to be a lot of noise, a lot of sparkle and a whole lot of attention. Who are we kidding, the attention will be there regardless, for that’s how the Lakers roll, never in the shadows, never irrelevant, their failed pursuits as much of a storyline as the times when triumph comes. Best case, perhaps, is that Westbrook revels in the role of assist machine, delivering passes of perfection to James and Davis and bolstering a team that wasn’t particularly good at moving the ball last season. And it is equally easy to envision an alternative scenario, because big name combinations can fail, and do, and have here in the past. The 2012-13 season in Tinseltown, with Kobe Bryant, Paul, Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, was an unmitigated flop. Pairing Westbrook with James Harden on the 2019-20 Houston Rockets didn’t exactly pan out as planned, either. But whatever, for the Lakers it was time to do something. The clock operates differently at Staples Center than everywhere else in that it speeds or slows depending on the present patience of a franchise that expects to win. [STORY IMAGE 3] It had counted down to zero already. Too long out of the spotlight, even though L.A. played its final playoff game as recently as June 3. Too long since a title, even though it’s been less than a year. Too long since a blockbuster signing – even though Davis joined in the summer of 2019 and James a year before that. Time to act. “Staples Center will be rocking,” [FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard said on FS1’s “First Things First.”]( “The talent at the top of the Lakers roster is incredible. Russell Westbrook will take a physical toll off of LeBron and AD, they won’t have to carry as much of a physical burden. You’ve got to give them a puncher’s chance. “All that said: no, I don’t like this. This is a chemistry experiment. Russ likes to play fast, LeBron likes to play slow and deliberate. Both LeBron and Russ are ball dominant. Their Big Three can’t really shoot. Who’s going to step back? It can’t be Russell Westbrook. If Russ can’t be Russ, what’s the point of having him?” [STORY IMAGE 4] For the Lakers, there is always a point to doing something above and beyond. They simply can’t stomach being second-best, or, indeed, as last season played out, not even at that level. The most sensible and circumspect thing to do would have been to largely stay put, hope James and Davis avoided the injury woes of the previous campaign, safe in the knowledge that if they did so the team would be among the most serious contenders. But this is the Lakers and such thoughts don’t sit easily. The championship now rests in Milwaukee – Milwaukee of all places! – in the hands of a team with three superstars who choose not to act like them. It is time, goes the thinking in Lakerland, to put things right. To show that big name stars have that status for a reason. To get the news cycle back where it belongs. To shoot for the title, sure, but just as importantly, to put on a show. The curtain just got raised. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Chris Broussard, FOX Sports: “If Russ wins a championship it goes from, 'what a great individual player, what a great athlete, what a spectacle' to, 'man, this dude is one of the greatest players we have ever seen!'” Rob Mahoney, The Ringer: “It’s a giant swing from a franchise that honestly had the luxury to play it safer. You don’t exactly need a ball-dominant lead guard when you already have James and Anthony Davis, but the Lakers opted to continue down the same path they had before, only further and faster as befits their new hard-driving point.” Stephen A. Smith, ESPN: “There will never have been more pressure on Russell Westbrook then this upcoming season. This is the most pressure he has been in throughout his career. From the outside world looking at him, more than ever before, his resume is going to come into play.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - With Russell Westbrook, L.A. has their third star. [FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre explains why that makes the Lakers a smart bet ... to an extent](. - In a do-or-die game against a tough Dutch team, the USWNT and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came up huge, [FOX Sports Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre writes](. - The Russell Westbrook trade could either make the Lakers look brilliant or fill them with regret, [FOX Sports NBA Writer Melissa Rohlin writes](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( There were plenty of outstanding storylines to come out of Thursday night’s NBA Draft, but this video from UConn star Paige Bueckers takes the cake. Check out this tweet, which shows Bueckers surprising her childhood friend Jalen Suggs after he was selected with the No. 5 pick by the Orlando Magic. Suggs and Bueckers grew up together in the same area of Minneapolis and have remained close friends. “This is something we talked about since we were little kids,” Bueckers said. “I’m just super happy and excited for you.” This is awesome to see. Good luck in Orlando, Jalen! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Roman Reigns shifts his focus to Finn Baylor this Friday. Olympics 2020 Primetime (NBC, 8 p.m. ET) Track & field, beach volleyball and swimming take centerstage at the Olympics. Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels (Saturday, FS1, 4:05 p.m. ET) Cole Irvin takes the mound for the Oakland Athletics, who go up against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angles. Minnesota Twins at St. Louis Cardinals (Saturday, FS1, 7:15 p.m. ET) Bailey Ober takes the hill for the Minnesota Twins, who battle Jake Woodford and the St. Louis Cardinals. CONCACAF Gold Cup Soccer 2021 (Sunday, FS1, 8:30 p.m. ET) The U.S. Men’s National Team takes on Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup Soccer Final from Allegiant Stadium. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( World Series Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers: +320 Houston Astros: +600 Chicago White Sox: +700 San Diego Padres: +900 New York Mets: +900 We have seen blockbuster after blockbuster this week in what has been one of the wildest MLB trade deadlines in years. On Thursday, we saw three massive moves as the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired All-Star right-hander Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals. Over in the American League, the New York Yankees acquired All-Star slugger Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs, while the Boston Red Sox got All-Star outfielder Kyle Schwarber from the Nationals. With all this action, what better time to take a look at some updated World Series odds. The Dodgers, following the move to acquire Scherzer and Turner, are heavy favorites at +320. The Astros, who currently hold a 5.5 game lead in the AL West, have the second-best odds at +600, followed by the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox. If you’re looking for a team with better odds, take a glance at the San Francisco Giants at +1200. The Giants currently have the best record in baseball and just acquired All-Star third baseman Kris Bryant at the deadline. This is shaping up to be a wild second half of the MLB season! 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