Even though his efficacy has dipped a bit in the years prior, he was still contributing to winning basketball through, like, sheer tyranny of will, lol. He never missed games, he never stopped giving a fuck. It's why I thought, despite the bad playoff fit, he'd be a good regular season it, because he'd help the Lakers when Bron and AD inevitably missed games. That, of course, didn't happen, lol. At all.

And yeah, the tank is just empty and he fucking *refuses* to adjust. It's like the Carmelo thing times ten, because Melo wasn't as ball-dominant as Russ, isn't as petulant, and *did* adjust his game once he got back in the league.

I think there's a world in which Russ still provides value as purely a second-unit leader, a guy who only gets in the game 18-20 minutes, when the stars are out, to stem the tide and beat up another team's backups some... but I'm honestly not even sure that's true anymore, because Russ only plays Russ Ball, and while that used to work, it just doesn't anymore. Maybe if Russ adjusted his game, he'd still provide value and be a guy who can play another 3-4 years, but right now he's playing like someone who'll be out the league in the next 12-18 months.

Beverly is clearly a better basketball player today than Russell Westbrook. And in terms of the team construct, Austin Reaves is clearly better today, as he shoots the ball well and exerts effort on defense.

If I was the Lakers, I'd consider rolling out 3 guards-- Beverly, Nunn, and Reaves-- with Bron and AD, and I'd have Westbrook try to beat up second units off the bench. And I'd absolutely throw in a pick or two for anyone willing to take on his expiring deal for any sort of assets in exchange.