Los Angeles Lakers signed D’Angelo Russell back in 2015. He stayed there for a couple of years before he moved to the Brooklyn Nets. Since then, he has moved from team to team, playing for the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves as well. But the prodigal son once again returned home in 2023 before the February trade deadline. He returned to Los Angeles when the team was in deep trouble.
The Lakers were looking for redemption in the current season. That’s when GM Rob Pelinka made some brilliant deals with certain teams. The idea was to get players who could restore balance to their roster. Perhaps without D’Lo, the Lakers would not have made the postseason. However, he disappointed the fans in the playoffs as the Lakers Faithful expected more from him in their time of need. On the other hand, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura did shine for their team. However, in the offseason, three of these young and vibrant players are set to become free agents. Although, as per the initial reports, the Lakers” front office is ready to keep AR & Rui for future runs. But the real question is: will the Lakers trade D’Angelo Russell in exchange for Kyrie Irving?
Some Lakers Want D’Lo To Stay In The Team As Point Guard
Unlike AR and Rui, who will become restricted free agents, D’Angelo Russell will become an unrestricted free agent. Hence, there is a better chance for the Lakers to trade him to teams such as the Miami Heat. Moreover, he himself expressed his desire to move to Miami once. On top of that, LeBron James wants Kyrie Irving to join the Lakers in exchange for D’Lo. It is going on for a long time since people have linked Iriving to the LA side. But no fruition to those rumors ever happened. However, sources recently shared information about some Lakers voting for D’Lo as their point guard for the future and not Irving.
According to Zach Lowe, an NBA insider, the Lakers might want to change their plans of trading D’Angelo Russell. They need D’Lo as a point guard, as he performed really well for the Lakers. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists in 17 games and was shooting 41.4% from the three-point area. However, D’Angelo Russell failed to impress the Lakers faithful after his poor show at the Western Conference Finals against Denver Nuggets. Hence, fans are questioning if extending his contract is the right idea. Moreover, Bobby Marks of ESPN also suggested that the Lakers can sign a two-year contract worth $67.5 million extension through June 30. If they don’t reach the extension, then Russell will hit the unrestricted free agency.
D’Angelo Russell Did Not Take Much Time To Be An Integral Part Of The LA Side
Rui Hachimura joined the Lakers right before the trade deadline in February as well. But the significant deal was a three-team contract. The Lakers signed a contract with Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz to trade Russell Westbrook and get back D’Angelo Russell. Along with him, several players who played key roles this season came in February.
But D’Lo became an integral part of the LA side very soon. He even won a few regular season games single-handedly. It did not take D’Lo much time to spearhead the attack of the team along with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James too. He also emerged as an expert three-point shooter.
