Lakers Could Have Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, And PJ Tucker For Less Money Than They’re Paying Russell Westbrook This Season

Los Angeles Lakers could have had four solid role players for less money than they're giving Russell Westbrook this season.

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The Los Angeles Lakers remain the talk of the town around the NBA and not for the best reasons. The Purple and Gold have struggled since last season to make some noise in the league, or at least the nice kind. Following a blockbuster move that landed Russell Westbrook in SoCal, things have gone wrong for them. 

Everybody knew the fit between Russ and LeBron James would be bad, except for James, Anthony Davis and Rob Pelinka. Now, the Lakers are living the consequences of that decision, and fans are anything but happy about the current moment of the team. 

Rumors about a Russell Westbrook trade have resurfaced after the first three games of the season, and many have started suggesting what the Lakers should do with Westbrook if they want to get rid of him. They missed out on a big opportunity a couple of weeks ago with the Utah Jazz, and now it's time to make better decisions. 

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Lakers Could Have Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, And PJ Tucker For Less Money Than They’re Paying Russell Westbrook This Season

If the botched trade wasn't enough, Brian Windhorst of ESPN recently reminded Lakers Nation that they could have had three of their former players and another big role player to boost their chances to win. 

But first, a quick aside: Did you know 2020 Laker champs Alex Caruso ($9 million), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ($14 million) and Kyle Kuzma ($13 million) combine to earn $36 million this season and the Lakers could have all of them plus P.J. Tucker ($10.5 million) for less than Westbrook ($47 million) earns this season? Apologies, couldn't be helped, let's move on.

That's a painful reminder, but it's the reality of the Lakers. The front office made some questionable decisions over the past two years, blowing up their championship team and creating one with no shooters and lots of chemistry issues. The Lakers have been linked with several trades around the league, especially regarding Russell Westbrook, who has been heavily criticized. 

Fans have had enough of it and they want to see some changes happening soon. As currently constructed, this team won't do much in the league.