I understand the rationale of Westbrook for the Lakers. That obviously hasn't worked, but it really is the rest of the roster construction and decisions that is just awful. They let Caruso leave for no reason. They didn't keep Schroder for no reason. They didn't keep Morris for no reason. They signed guys like DeAndre Jordan for no reason at the expense of Drummond or Ellington instead of Matthews. They used their biggest exception on Nunn who has yet to play for them.
How much better are the Lakers, even with Westbrook, if they still have Caruso, Schroder, Drummond, Matthews, and Morris? If nothing else, they'd have the salaries of Caruso, Schroder, and Drummond (along with THT) that they could have used in trades since they could have signed those guys to whatever contract they wanted to (and Morris could have been above the minimum).