![League executive: 'I expect Westbrook and Harden to join forces [with Lakers]'](https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2020/02/1294/728/9b2bd4bb-040515-SW-James-Harden-PI.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
League executive: 'I expect Westbrook and Harden to join forces [with Lakers]'
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently going through one of the most embarrassing stretches in the history of their storied franchise, and this summer could go a long way in forecasting whether they're headed for brighter days or another few years spent masquerading as a professional basketball team.
But, according to one anonymous league executive quoted in this ESPN article, even if the Lakers strike out in free agency over the next few weeks, they will always be a magical destination for superstars. Even superstars who seem happy in their current locations:
"They just need one big guy to go there, and the rest will follow. I expect [Russell] Westbrook and [James] Harden to join forces there when they become free. It definitely still has allure. It's still L.A., and they are still the Lakers. No free agent can question whether or not they will spend the money to win titles."
Should this belief strike fear in the hearts of every Houston Rockets fan? Maybe, maybe not. Harden is under contract through the 2017-18 season, so Houston has three more guaranteed years with the All-Star on its team, at least.
Harden turns 26 in August, so he'll be 30 years old on the first year of his next contract. Given his style of play (the guy takes a serious beating), it's tough to predict how effective he'll be three years from now.
One convenient comparison is Dwyane Wade, who once lived at the free throw line and is now paying for it. Wade is no longer healthy enough to run through an 82-game season, and his game has noticeably slipped on both ends of the floor.
Wade won the title when he was 30, back in 2012, but had LeBron James and Chris Bosh in their respective primes to help. He hasn't been a bad player by any stretch of the imagination since then, but the Miami Heat weren't too excited to lock him up on a long-term deal last summer, either.
Back to Harden: There's a really good chance he's still an All-Star-caliber shooting guard in 2019, but the fact of the matter is his prime years will be spent in a Rockets jersey. And there's nothing the Lakers can do about it.
(h/t: ESPN)
Photo Credit: Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports
