Do you believe the Lakers’ attempts at gaining trade talk leverage?

Russell Westbrook’s ears must constantly be burning. Although the Lakers haven't played basketball in what seems like a year now, the polarizing point guard continues to find himself in the news on a near daily basis.

In his latest, Jovan Buha of The Athletic shared that league sources have stated that the Lakers have “no intention of using a first-round pick to facilitate a Westbrook trade,” and that this may be more than just a bluff, as the there’s a reported belief within the team that the right coach and roster may “smooth over” Westbrook’s awkward fit with James and Davis.

Whether this can be chalked up as an act of posturing or an actual indicator of a Westbrook return is still to be seen, however, it wasn't the only time his name was mentioned in the past day. The other news surrounding the Lakers revolved around the team perhaps being in the Zach LaVine market this offseason. A move that would require a Westbrook departure.

The latest buzz came in the form of a TMZ video that surfaced on Tuesday morning in which LaVine expressed being a fan of the franchise. Although nothing of substance should actually be taken from a throwaway compliment to a reporter that was essentially baiting him to do so, this also comes on the heels of LaVine signing with Klutch Sports in August, a report that linked the Lakers among the teams that would have interest in LaVine this summer and Lavar Ball — of all people — predicting the all-star would land with the team.

While all of this is likely just speculative at this point, the scenario is not completely out of the question. At least in terms of the logistical maneuvering that can, and needs to be done for LaVine to find himself on the Lakers. Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus recently published an extremely thorough piece outlining what moves actually need to be done in order for it to be pulled off.

Safe to say, it won't be easy, but it’s also not impossible. This brings us to today’s episode.

On this week’s edition of “Talk-O-Tuesday” our hosts Alex Padilla and Alex Regla discussed the potential prospects of LaVine somehow landing with the Lakers this offseason, and debate whether he’s actually worth the likely obstacles and assets necessary to make it a reality.

The duo then recapped the latest on Westbrook-watch-2022, and shared if whether they believe the team’s reported stance on holding onto their draft picks in a Westbrook swap is legit and what they make of the potentially growing likelihood he's actually back on the team this year.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.