2 former Lakers who are struggling elsewhere this season, 2 who are thriving

Some NBA fans are focused on the here and now. Who's on my team, how are they doing, etc. Others not only do that, they also obsess over the happenings around the league, especially when it concerns players who used to be on their favorite team.

Los Angeles Lakers fans who fall into the latter camp have a lot to keep track of because the Lakers haven't exactly been shy about turning over the roster in the pursuit of another championship. All around the league, there are familiar faces no longer wearing the purple and gold. Some have found happiness in their new homes, while others have found success to be more elusive.

The Lakers coasted to a win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, but everybody beats the Wizards, so there's only so much that's worth discussing from that game. Anthony Davis scored 29, LeBron James had a triple-double and Dorian Finney-Smith pitched in 16, his high since coming over in a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. There, that about covers it.

Instead of reading too much into a win over a tanking team, let's look around the league to check in on some former Lakers and see how they're doing.

Kyle Kuzma is wasting away on the worst team in the NBA

Okay, I lied; we'll stick with the Wizards for just a bit longer. Kyle Kuzma is now in his fourth season in the nation's capital, the same amount of time he spent in L.A. to start his career.

Kuzma's numbers are way down across the board this year, but there's no way to know if that's a product of his game declining or the cumulative effect of playing for a team that has a 14.3 winning percentage.

Kuzma has missed time this year with groin, rib and calf injuries, but in the 25 games he has played, he's averaging just 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists, all the lowest marks by far since he's been in Washington. His three-point shooting, which was never a strong point to begin with, is down to an unsightly 25.7 percent, and his overall field goal percentage is a career-low 42.4 percent.

Having to give up the Hollywood lifestyle to waste away on one of the league's most poorly run franchises can take its toll on anybody. Kuzma seems like a guy who could really be rejuvenated by a trade to a winner, though he blocked a deal last year that would have sent him to the soon-to-be Western Conference champion Mavericks. Who even knows at this point, but his arrow is definitely pointing down.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken a step back since trading for Julius Randle

The Knicks and Timberwolves shocked the NBA by completing the blockbuster deal of the offseason. That trade sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota, and it's fair to say that things haven't worked out on the basketball court as well as Minnesota hoped they would.

The Wolves went 56-26 last year and made the Western Conference Finals, taking out the defending champion Denver Nuggets along the way. Anthony Edwards seemed poised to become the league's next superstar, and the Wolves looked ready to become a perennial contender.

Fast forward just a few months later, and little of that optimism remains. The Wolves are barely above .500 at 22-21, and the dropoff from Towns to Randle has been the biggest reason why.

Randle has always been known as a ball-stopper, but whereas he mostly thrived playing for Tom Thibodeau and his grind-it-out style, he's clashed with his new team. He's scoring about five points less and grabbing almost two fewer rebounds per game than he did last season, and the defensive drop-off from Towns to him has been noticeable. The Wolves are still a very respectable seventh in the league in defensive efficiency, but that's a far cry from last year when they led the league.

Alex Caruso could be the missing piece in an OKC title run

The precocious Thunder earned the 1-seed in the Western Conference last year, but they fell flat in the Western Conference semifinals, ultimately getting knocked out by the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

It's clear that OKC had the talent to challenge for a championship, but they lacked the experience needed to get over the hump. That's why they traded for Alex Caruso and signed Isaiah Hartenstein this offseason, and although neither has been a star, their presence has helped bring about an evolution to a team that was already really good.

The Thunder are 35-7 with the best point differential in the NBA. They're running away with the top seed in the West, but not only that, they look much more ready to make a postseason run. Caruso has struggled with his outside shot, but the Thunder will happily take the trade off since he's averaging a career-high 1.8 steals per game.

Caruso may seem like a luxury on a team that already has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to lock up opposing scorers, but he's exactly the kind of player that can turn a contender into a champion. The Thunder lead the league in defensive rating, and the gap between them and the second-place Rockets is the same as the one between the Rockets and the 10th-ranked Warriors.

Josh Giddey killed the Thunder in the postseason last year. Now he's gone to Chicago. Caruso may not fill the stat sheet, but his toughness and experience will be a huge upgrade when it's time to decide a playoff series.

Russell Westbrook is thriving as Nikola Jokic's unlikely new best friend

As someone who's always been a big fan of Russell Westbrook's game, it's been difficult to see him tail off. Aging hasn't usually been kind to uber-athletic guards, but the way in which NBA fans and media members talked about Russ as if he should be out of the league in recent years was way too far.

I'm happy to report that Westbrook has found his niche in Denver, and he's really helped the Nuggets claw their way back up the Western Conference standings. Early in the season, people were bemoaning the fact that Nikola Jokic had no help. Now that they've won seven of eight, they're changing their tune.

Jamal Murray seems to have finally rediscovered his game, but the biggest shock has been how Westbrook has been able to fit as a complementary piece in a lesser role than he's been used to. This isn't the Russ that averaged a triple-double in four out of five years, but his 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game have been just what Mike Malone's club has needed.

Westbrook has never been known for his outside shooting, but if he makes his next three, he'll have the highest percentage of his career. He's of course brought his trademark energy and competitiveness to every game, which has been the perfect counterpoint to the steadiness and unflappability of Nikola Jokic.

Like it or not, Westbrook has been one of the most important players in the NBA during his 17-year career. Though things didn't work out with the Lakers, it's been great to see him reinvent himself on a contender.