Lakers Rumors: Three ways LA can land Russell Westbrook next summer

Russell Westbrook is back in the mix of the latest Lakers rumors, and it’s not looking good for Oklahoma City.

By trading for Paul George over the summer, Oklahoma City has really set themselves up for a heck of a season. Both George and Russell Westbrook, the league’s reigning MVP, will get to team up and see how a team led by them both fares against the juggernauts in the Western Conference.

However, one of the major elephants in the room has to do with the ties both stars have to the city of Los Angeles. George and Westbrook call LA home, with George growing up near the city and Westbrook going on to be a star at UCLA before making the leap to the next level.

If the Lakers come calling, which they obviously will, the Thunder find themselves in a big predicament. It’s hard to even judge which loss would be harder to take, as we’ve yet to see how George really factors into what the Thunder are going to do.

Having the Lakers on the back of their minds will absolutely be a factor this season and could even grow into a major distraction. The Thunder didn’t do great in their playoff series versus Houston with Westbrook as the go-to guy, but the hope is that they could change that.

While George does bring a different dynamic to the team and also gives OKC another offensive weapon, he may be their biggest weakness. ESPN posted a video on the team page that they have for the Lakers where Ramona Shelbourne talks about the possibility of Russell Westbrook coming to LA and how that would all unfold.

Here’s three things the Lakers need to do in order to land the reigning MVP.