As tipoff neared Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz said goodbye to Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and two second-round picks. In exchange, they received the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2027 top-4 protected first-round pick along with Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones.
They also got Russell Westbrook.
The former MVP and current Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner was by far the biggest name involved in Wednesday’s three-team swap. But multiple reports indicate Westbrook is more likely to receive a buyout rather than play in Utah.
Why would the Jazz pay him to never play for the team?
The future problem
The Lakers’ first-round pick was the obvious selling point for a rebuilding franchise, and this trade makes it clear the back half of this season will be entirely focused on preparing for the future. That means giving guards like Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker an extended evaluation period to see if they can be legitimate pieces on the next contending Jazz roster.
A big part of that evaluation will be letting Sexton and Horton-Trucker get more opportunities as the primary ball handler — and gauging whether they can grow into that role.
Coach Will Hardy seemed to agree with that in his postgame comments Wednesday night. Hardy took several minutes to talk about the importance of getting younger players live, in-game reps to get a true evaluation over the season’s stretch run.
If that is going to be the focus, why would the Jazz want to bring in another ball-dominant guard like Westbrook? It would only take away chances for the younger players the Jazz need answers on.
Beyond that, even if Westbrook didn’t play, just being on the roster takes up another spot the Jazz could use on a younger player. Would the Jazz rather use their last roster spot on a potential contributor from the G League, or on an older player who will certainly not be a part of their future?
The financial problem
Beyond basketball, the Jazz also have some financial considerations that would make a Westbrook buyout more palatable than having him finish the season in Utah. Westbrook is on the final year of a five-year, $203 million max contract extension he originally signed in Oklahoma City. This last season was a player option for over $47 million, which the Lakers have paid more than half of. The Jazz now owe Westbrook $16 million for the rest of the year.
That said, the Jazz could still save some money off of that total if Westbrook agreed to a reduced buyout rather than Utah paying the full remainder of his 2023 salary. If Westbrook wants to play for a contending team, rather than a rebuilding one, it could make sense for Westbrook to just take the buyout as well and move on. The Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are all playoff-level teams that are reportedly interested in the guard if he Is bought out.
On occasion, teams will keep players like this to retain their Bird rights, to be used in an offseason sign-and-trade situation. But because Westbrook has little value in a trade, and the Jazz won’t be over the cap, this isn’t one of those situations.
The basketball problem
And all of this ignores one of the most obvious drawbacks to having Westbrook on the team: He just isn’t very effective anymore. Never mind the future, the Jazz just wouldn’t be getting the Westbrook of the past. While he is averaging almost 16 points per game and 7.5 assists, most of his numbers have dipped off his career average. He has the second-worst effective field goal percentage in the league right now among minutes-qualifying players. He would be an unlikely fit in the Jazz’s current game plan.
