More than anything else, the Lakers would love to trade Russell Westbrook right now just to get off his contract.

Would they like to get a productive and potentially star-caliber player back to fill that $47 million void? Absolutely. But we’ve got to be realistic — that’s never happening.

They probably can’t even get a handful of rotational players for him at this point. Nobody seems to want Russ, per Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes. You can’t get value in return for him.

“They will continue to shop his deal now that it is expiring, but attaching future first-round picks compounds the problem of finding teams capable of matching so much salary in a swap. The Lakers want value in return for Westbrook, and that may be impossible to find for a $47 million replacement-level player.”

They could attempt to attach picks to Westbrook’s contract to try and sweeten the pot for a team with cap room like, say, the Pistons, Magic or Pacers. But the Lakers don’t really have picks to trade until 2026 when all the picks from the Anthony Davis deal with the Pelicans have finally been conveyed.

Then, on top of that, you’d have a hard time just finding players those teams are willing to get send off that also add up to match Westbrook’s salary.

It’s just a tough route to go down at this point and it’s probably why this is the least likely outcome despite it being the most preferred for the Lakers.

The Lakers could always just negotiate a buyout with Westbrook like the Rockets just did with John Wall.

This is certainly an option here — albeit a less-discussed one. Mostly because Westbrook just has never really seemed to be down with the option. There were discussions about a potential buyout toward the tail end of the season but Westbrook reportedly wasn’t here for it, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

“One option: Westbrook considering a buyout of the final year of his contract, but at least for now, sources close to the 2017 MVP expressed pessimism he would do that.

Westbrook is a prideful man. His swagger is both his sword and his shield, and he will not lay them down lightly. He is wary of the stigma that comes with accepting a buyout, one source close to him explained. But he also still believes he can contribute to a team at a high level.”

In the NBA, accepting a buyout means you’re in the twilight of your career — you might actually be passed that. You’re not worth the deal you previously signed. That’s a derogatory mark on any player’s resume. It’s no wonder Westbrook reportedly isn’t down with this option.

But, quite frankly, it might be the best thing for both parties involved in this extreme circumstance.

Westbrook might still have something left in the tank to offer — honestly, I think he does. He’s not too far removed from that historic triple-double year with the Wizards.

But it’s clear this roster isn’t the best fit for him. Both sides need to move on and this is a way to do it in which Westbrook still gets most of his money and the Lakers can save a little space while moving on depending on how much Westbrook is willing to leave on the table to move on.

This doesn’t feel like something that will happen, but it probably should.

If the Lakers are desperate enough to move on, they could just release Westbrook completely.

In this scenario, they’d eat his entire $47 million salary while allowing him to move on and play somewhere else. They still wouldn’t have the cap room to improve their team, but Russ would have moved on and maybe there’s space to plug someone else in who is a better basketball fit.

This option probably isn’t worth thinking too much about because it almost certainly isn’t happening.

The Lakers want something in return for Westbrook, whether it’s another crop of players or some cap space back from a buyout. They’re not just going to release him for nothing.

NBA Insider Marc Stein said they’re not even considering it at this point.

“The Lakers are tuning out the skeptics yet again and insisting to anyone who will listen that they would rather keep Russell Westbrook on the roster for next season than surrender additional assets to convince someone to trade for him. The Lakers are also said to be adamant that they won’t release the former MVP and eat his $47.1 million player option for next season after Westbrook picks it up.”

So that’s not the move here. Here’s what probably will happen, though.

And here we are. Like I said at the top, right back at square one. What will probably happen next year is that Westbrook will play out the final year of his contract in LA.

The Lakers asked coaches during their interview process how they’d incorporate him for a reason — they knew it’d be tough to move on.

In all likelihood, they probably won’t be able to. But that’s OK! Westbrook might still be a good basketball player. There are just different ways the Lakers are going to have to incorporate him.

Maybe he takes more ball-handling duties from LeBron James. Maybe there’s more Anthony Davis pick-and-roll with him involved. Maybe he gets the ball in some better positions through Darvin Ham’s new offense? I’m not sure.

But they’ll need to figure out what the best ways to incorporate him are if they want to make it back to the playoffs again. And the time to do that is right now.

So, hopefully, they’re on it.