The turning point of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2022-23 season happened when the team traded Russell Westbrook in a three-team trade that brought D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to LA.
This gave the Lakers a deeper rotation that also benefited from the addition by subtraction of simply getting rid of Westbrook. Los Angeles went from a team that looked like it was going to be high in the lottery to make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
There is no doubt that it was a home-run trade for the Lakers (especially because the team was able to protect its 2027 first-round pick).