NBA Rumors: Westbrook Status Still Up In The Air Despite Beverly's Arrival

After reportedly acquiring Patrick Beverly from the Utah Jazz, it appears the Los Angeles Lakers were able to address their playmaking void. It is a position that has been plaguing the purple and gold for years and the 34-year-old playmaker looms as a perfect fit.

Initially, it appeared that Russell Westbrook would be the one starting at the point guard position with Beverly backing him up. Per a report by Joven Buha of The Athletic, this may not be the case.

The scribe suggested that the Lakers could still pull off some moves involving the 2017 NBA MVP. This would either come in the form of a trade or being sent home while being paid the $47 million salary that Westbrook is due to make this coming NBA season.

Should Westbrook be frozen for the season, he is likely to go the same route that John Wall had with the Houston Rockets last season. This means that unless a team picks him up, the nine-time All-Star may not see action and still get his contract.

Economically, this would not make sense for the Lakers. The plausible solution is still a trade although there is no clarity on which among the other NBA teams would take a chance on the triple-double-producing cager.

With Kyrie Irving now out of the picture, the Lakers could divert their attention to Buddy Hield and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. However, the purple and gold may have to give up their future first-round picks alongside Westbrook to get the deal done.

Recall that the Lakers were only willing to include their future picks if the deal involved Irving or some high-profile player. Young players in the fold would have made sense.

But with Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson moving to the Utah Jazz in the Beverly deal, Los Angeles may now be short in options – meaning dealing one or two of their future picks would be needed to get Hield and Turner.