When the 2020-21 NBA season began, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were determined to bring home a two-peat. However, injuries ate away the second half of their season, with both Anthony Davis and James out for a significant amount of time. While they did reach the playoffs, James suffered his very first Round 1 exit against the Phoenix Suns.
However, the Lakers are not yet ready to give up – recently acquiring star guard Russell Westbrook via a trade which sent away Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
It will certainly be interesting to see Westbrook play alongside James and Davis – once again adjusting to a new role with another team. While it might make them dominant on the court, it may take some time to get used to.
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Russell Westbrook and LeBron James are all set for the upcoming season
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are already training with each other, a much-needed boost before the NBA campaign begins. King James posted and shared the photos on his Instagram handle, seemingly happy about how things have turned out. He even tagged Westbrook in the post.
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That being said, the two stars were also seen with assistant coach Phil Handy.
The 36-year-old shared multiple photos of them on the court, successfully creating hype. With both Westbrook and James having faced disappointments last year, this new partnership might be what they need to win another title.
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Fans react to James and Westbrook training together
kd is shaking currently
— Grim Reaper🐐🔮 (HoodieJT🐐) (@FanMahome) August 14, 2021
Ratio seed incoming
— MONK FANATIC (@therealselena23) August 14, 2021
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Now everybody wanna use scary hours lmaoo
— kd better (@35slimm) August 14, 2021
Now, while Westbrook does add another great guard and consistent scoring ballhandler on the team, the Lakers might have made an error elsewhere. They have traded away Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, which might affect the group’s core in some way, maybe even affecting the performance.
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The Westbrook trade was an intricate five-team trade that was orchestrated, where most teams seem to have made the right choices. James will also have Carmelo Anthony on his team (finally), which might be the right motivation for him.
If at all anything would falter at the beginning, it would be their defense, now without Alex Caruso and Caldwell-Pope. That being said, Davis and Westbrook remaining healthy throughout might be enough for the Lakers to clinch another title in the end.
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