It's time; this experiment has gone on long enough. The Westbrook situation has reached the point where the Lakers can no longer afford his negative influence on the roster. I understand wanting to get compensation for every investment, but sometimes, something can become too much of a liability than it is an asset.
In this case, every second Westbrook is on the roster he makes it clear he's not willing to put the team ahead of himself. I'm tired of seeing clips go viral of him standing away from the rest of the huddle or making it clear he's not willing to listen to anything teammates or coaches have to say. And this is after the addition of a new coach meant to signal a change of scenery that could potentially get the best out of a roster that underperformed last season. Yet it seems that something must have happened behind the scenes that caused Westbrook not to buy in, which is fine. Every player is entitled to their own opinion. But for the sake of everyone, the Lakers need to bite the bullet on this sunk cost.
Whether Westbrook plays all 82 games or not, the Lakers owe him 47 million dollars.
The sunk cost fallacy refers to when someone won't depart from an entity because of how much they've already invested, even if that entity is clearly a detriment. For example, you stay in that toxic relationship making you unhappy because you've been together so long that you don't want to feel like you wasted all that time.
In this case, the Lakers must understand whether or not Westbrook is on the roster is irrelevant. You owe him 47 million dollars. Place your ego aside and cut him. Yes, it'll mean paying someone millions who will not be on your roster, but it's what you have to do. Because right now, it's clear no one in the NBA views Westbrook as an asset worth trading for, so you need to face reality and stop holding out for a trade.
The Westbrook-Lakers experiment has failed. And maybe Westbrook can still go elsewhere and turn back the clock, but that should not be of the concern of the Laker front office.
Their primary concern is what is best for the franchise, and in this case, that means addressing the elephant in the room and getting Westbrook as far away from the team as possible.
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