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The Los Angeles Lakers injected life into their 2022-23 NBA season by landing D’Angelo Russell, among others, leading up to the trade deadline. But after a complicated playoff run, the Lakers now enter the offseason with big questions swirling around the 27-year old combo guard.
Russell is still a serviceable player who can get hot, make decent reads and provide the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis with running spaces, but the Lakers guard does have his deficiencies on the court. He is a bad defensive player and is prone to having disappearing acts in the playoffs.
Russell remains eligible to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension by June 30, but the Lakers aren’t interested in pursuing at max number. Now, recent reports are saying that the Lakers may look to use him in a sign-and-trade, with possible targets being Kyrie Irving and Fred VanVleet.
Per The Athletic:
My read on the situation is that the Lakers would prefer to use D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade, but I’m not sure the market is there.
Landing Kyrie Irving for Russell is shaping up to be a pipe dream, especially with Dallas unlikely to help Los Angeles out. Fred VanVleet, a Klutch client, looms as a possibility, but adding him would require Toronto to agree to terms with Russell (or take on the Beasley and Bamba contracts).
