It's been a struggle all season for the Lakers to find supporting players to put around their Big 3 (it's been a struggle to keep the Big 3 on the floor, too, but that's a different story). Kent Bazemore, Wayne Ellington, and Trevor Ariza have all been ineffective. DeAndre Jordan, too. Kendrick Nunn is yet to play. A bright spot, though, has been the pickup of Stanley Johnson, who has brought badly needed athleticism on the defensive end, and quickly become a favorite of Frank Vogel.Wednesday, the Lakers reached an agreement with Johnson that will keep him around for the rest of the season, and give the Lakers first dibs on his services next year as well. It's a good deal for all involved, and it's not impossible that, stripped of the expectations that come with being a high lottery pick, Johnson, still only 25, could find a niche and develop with the Lakers. Not into a star - that ship has sailed - but as a valuable role player.It's a cool payoff for a player who worked very hard to make his way back to the NBA.From there... the great NBA writer Marc Stein has news about Russell Westbrook, and those rumors about a potential deal to the Houston Rockets for John Wall. It seems the Lakers, rightly, are unwilling to include a first round pick to rid themselves of Westbrook. But it's an applaudingly cheeky move from the Rockets to put that possibility out there, just in case things melt down and the Lakers get desperate.Meanwhile, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN wrote a great feature this week talking about Westbrook post-benching, and how he and the Lakers are trying to get the on-court results from this roster to match expectations. A couple important takeaways:
There's no Plan B. The Lakers know they're pot-committed to this experiment.
Westbrook's comfort zone extends well beyond what he's doing on the floor.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: Stanley Johnson gets a contract. Cool for him, smart for the Lakers.SEGMENT 2: On Westbrook for Wall. The Lakers, it seems have their limits when it comes to undoing the Westbrook deal.SEGMENT 3: What goes into Westbrook's overall comfort? How have off court adjustments impacted him?Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.PrizePicksDon’t hesitate, check out PrizePicks.com and use promo code: “NBA” or go to your app store and download the app today. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy!TrueBillDon’t fall for subscription scams. Start cancelling today at Truebill.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices