The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have pinpointed Russell Westbrook as the root of their issues this season, but trading him away at the deadline is unlikely. The Lakers are instead focusing on more realistic scenarios in which they could improve their rotation.

"It's going to be very difficult to trade Russell Westbrook and Rob Pelinka knows that," said Adrian Wojnarowski. "With $47 million due to him next season, there's just not a marketplace to do that. The Lakers have shown a real reluctance to incentivize a deal, meaning add draft picks to it. They have picks still going out in other deals. At what point do you stop just completely mortgaging your future for deals that probably result in all of a sudden you having a championship contender. And now you've just jugged yourself a deeper hole.

"Their problems are deeper than how Westbrook has assimilated into this team. Losing Alex Caruso last year. Not paying the luxury tax to keep him. They gassed their assets in the Westbrook trade.

"Right now, the deals the Lakers are really looking at are around the fringes. Players like Alec Burks in New York. Dennis Schroder in Boston. Any number of role players, fringe starters that they might be able to cobble together the assets to get.

"But the idea of a Westbrook trade? Nothing is impossible but I think it is highly unlikely."

Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported Thursday morning that the Lakers were engaged with a number of teams on Wednesday concerning a deal involving Talen Horton-Tucker.