Russell Westbrook to exercise $47.1 million option, return to Lakers

Rumors have been flying in recent weeks surrounding both Irving’s and Westbrook’s future with the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers respectively. Many on social media have been theorizing, but also laughing off wild trade scenarios involving the two All-Stars simply swapping teams and with both now using their player options to end those talks for now, it looks like the duo would not be switching uniforms after all.

Westbrook is entering the final season of his original five-year, $206 million contract. Since the start of the deal, the 33-year-old has been traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets, then from the Rockets to the Washington Wizards and then from Washington to Los Angeles.

In some ways similar to the Irving-Kevin Durant-James Harden trio in Brooklyn, the “Big Three” of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis massively underperformed last season, though for different reasons. Davis missed over half of the season with injury problems, James was limited to 56 games played due to injury and veteran rest and Westbrook 18.5 points, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steals per contest were all well under his career averages.

“The Lakers are counting on Westbrook to have a comeback season under new coach Darvin Ham,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday morning. “Westbrook has told ESPN in recent weeks that he’s enthusiastic about getting to know Ham.”