The Los Angeles Lakers made arguably the biggest splash of the NBA offseason earlier this summer when they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster five-team trade.
While it’s not every day you get to acquire the NBA’s all-time triple-double leader and a former MVP, the Lakers did also give up some quality talent in return in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Even though it ultimately ended up being a complicated five-team deal involving a number of other players, the Lakers and Wizards’ side of it actually came together very quickly during the draft.