The Los Angeles Lakers are nearing a deal with the Washington Wizards to acquire Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a 2021 first-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Harrell has opted into his $9.7 million player option for next season, paving the way for the potential deal.
There’s no agreement in place and work still to do on the Westbrook trade. Talks with the Sacramento Kings on a possible Buddy Hield deal had also been ongoing between the two teams, sources told Wojnarowski.
The Lakers own the No. 22 overall pick in Thursday night’s draft (8p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App).
If the trade goes down, Westbrook will join LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Co. in Los Angeles, giving the team a nine-time All-Star point guard.
Dennis Schroder ran the point for the Lakers this past season, but he turned down the maximum extension the Lakers were eligible to offer him during the regular season to pursue a more lucrative deal as a free agent this summer.
Westbrook, who’s from southern California and played at UCLA, is appealed by the idea of returning to his Los Angeles roots, sources said.
As for Washington, the potential deal would be made with Bradley Beal in mind; it creates some salary cap flexibility for the future to add talent around the star guard, sources told Wojnarowski. Beal is entering the last year of his contract and is poised to be a free agent next offseason.