Despite some impressive play from D’Angelo Russell lately, he remains the subject of lots of trade talk. In particular, many feel he’s on his way to being traded for the Atlanta Hawks’ Dejounte Murray.
While Russell has been on a heater, he has a history of being streaky, especially in the playoffs, and his defense, despite some improved effort from him this season, is lackluster. Furthermore, he has a player option for next season, which means it’s possible the Los Angeles Lakers will lose him for nothing.
If they do lose him in free agency, the Russell Westbrook trade last February, which brought him to the team, will look a lot worse.
Trading Russell, even for Murray, who is a ball-handling 2 guard, means the Lakers would need to replace his facilitating and passing. To that end, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha wrote that they could look toward veteran point guard Kyle Lowry should he get bought out.
Via The Athletic:
“According to team and league sources, Kyle Lowry, who could be available if he’s bought out by Charlotte after being traded there from Miami this week, is one name to watch for the Lakers,” wrote Buha.
Lowry was traded by the Miami Heat just days ago to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier in order to address their lack of offensive firepower. It is widely believed the Hornets will buy out Lowry, who will make nearly $30 million this season, if they cannot find a taker for him on the trade market.
The days of Lowry, who is 37, being a starting-level point guard are long gone, as he’s averaging just 8.2 points a game this season. But he could fit the bill for the Lakers as a backup and possibly even a glue guy, especially given the uncertainty surrounding when Gabe Vincent may be able to return.
Lowry is a six-time All-Star, and he won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors five seasons ago. He’s shooting 38.5% from 3-point range on decent volume this season, which is another thing that could help L.A. if he were to maintain that accuracy with the Purple and Gold.