West Rumors: Lakers, Russell Westbrook, Spurs, Warriors

Lakers

• The Lakers view Patrick Beverley as a 3-and-D wing player, and not necessarily a “point guard,” per Marc Stein of The Stein Line. So it appears that Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder will be Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, entering training camp at the position.
• Yes, despite all the trade speculation, Westbrook is likely to be back with the Lakers for a second season. They tried mightily to move him, but found no takers. Sources suspect that barring a turnaround, they will again look to trade Westbrook and his expiring $44 million deal during the season.
• Along with that, the Lakers remain hopeful of pulling off a Westbrook trade in training camp. They still have interest in Pacers shooting guard Buddy Hield, sources said.

Spurs

• The Spurs are among the teams linked to Westbrook, though they are likely taking a “wait-and-see” approach entering camp, per LJ Ellis of Spurs Talk. San Antonio is one of the few teams open to a trade for Westbrook, Ellis added.
• Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson “are the two Spurs players most commonly involved” in trade talks, Ellis wrote, though neither have been liked to LA. The price for Poeltl and Richardson “remains high,” per Ellis.
• The Spurs have also explored trading Doug McDermott, but interest has been minimal, Ellis added.

Warriors

While nothing is official, the Warriors expect veteran swingman Andre Iguodala to return for one more run, per Stein. Iguodala is likely to make the decision known on his podcast, which he hosts with Evan Turner.

GM Bob Myers made it clear he is hopeful Iguodala will in fact be back.

“[Iguodala] is one of the few people in the world who can look Stephen Curry or Draymond Green or Klay Thompson in the eye and meet them at their level, but also grab a Jordan Poole or James Wiseman or Jonathan Kuminga and speak to them and encourage them,” Myers said, via Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

“There’s no one else in the league that can do that for our team. And we think he can still play and help us in certain spots. So we really want him back. This isn’t like a charity thing. It’s not, ‘Oh, you know, we can’t not say yes to Andre because he’s won championships.’ We have pursued him more than he has pursued us.”