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The LA Lakers had one of their most disappointing campaigns ever last season. Anthony Davis was hampered by injuries, while Russell Westbrook never fully embraced Frank Vogel's system. LeBron James had an amazing season at age 37, but was also slowed down by injuries.
In preparation for next season, the Lakers have made some moves this summer. They hired Darvin Ham as head coach while signing several free agents. They are also actively trying to trade Russell Westbrook. Some players linked to the Lakers were Kyrie Irving, Buddy Hield and Myles Turner.
Here is the latest LA Lakers rumors roundup for July 23 brought to you by Sportskeeda.
LeBron James sick of teaming up with Russell Westbrook
LeBron James was the main proponent of the acquisition of Russell Westbrook last summer. However, Westbrook's first season with the LA Lakers had disastrous results. It was a very frustrating year watching the former MVP struggle to shoot and defend.
On a recent episode of "The Lowe Post" podcast, ESPN's Dave McMenamin revealed that "The King" no longer wants to play with Westbrook. This was despite a recent report by Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports stating that James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis re-affirmed their goals to contend next season.
"It's pretty darn clear that Lebron James has seen enough and he has no interest in going another year with Russell Westbrook as his teammate," McMenamin said.
Russell Westbrook for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner dead
The Indiana Pacers are one of the few teams interested in acquiring Russell Westbrook and his massive expiring contract. The Pacers are in rebuilding mode and having Westbrook on the roster means they will have a lot of cap space next summer.
According to Bob Kravitz of The Athletic, the LA Lakers were willing to trade Westbrook and a future first round pick for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. However, the Pacers wanted an additional first round pick to make the deal, so the talks are currently dead.
NBA insider Marc Stein wrote in his latest Substack piece that no deal is ever considered dead in the league. Stein noted that the Lakers could revisit the proposal and add a second first round pick. The problem for the Lakers is they are trying to hold on to their remaining draft assets.
LeBron James is already 37 years old, while Anthony Davis has never played a full season in his career. The Lakers will need to have a perfect season to win a championship, which will make mortgaging their future worth it.
LA Lakers to hold workouts for veterans including Shabazz Muhammad
The LA Lakers are trying to fill out the rest of their roster as they prepare for next season. The Lakers will hold a workout for several players, including former lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The No. 14 pick of the 2013 NBA draft worked out with the Sacramento Kings in the Summer League.
Muhammad spent the first four and a half years of his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was waived midway through the 2017-18 season, signing for the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of the year. The Bucks waived him before the start of the 2018-19 season.
The 29-year-old scorer spent the past several seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association and Philippine Basketball Association. He also signed with the Grand Rapids Gold of the G League in 2021, but lasted just two days. Muhammad averaged 8.5 points and 2.8 rebounds during his time in the NBA.
