One of the biggest, if not the biggest, dominos to fall for the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason is the fate of starting guard D’Angelo Russell.
He will become a free agent on June 30, and fans seem split on whether the team would be better off keeping him on a new contract or using him in a sign-and-trade to secure an upgrade, such as Kyrie Irving.
Reportedly, the team doesn’t have any real interest in making another run at Irving. However, that doesn’t mean it will not use Russell as trade bait to improve its roster in some other way.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers would prefer to use him in a sign-and-trade than keep him on a new contract (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via 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.”
However, the journalist also wrote it’s more likely the team re-signs Russell or lets him walk in free agency.
“If ranking the probabilities for Russell’s future, I’d go: 1) The Lakers re-sign Russell; 2) The Lakers renounce his cap hold and let him walk; 3) The Lakers sign-and-trade him.”
The Lakers could perhaps win the NBA championship next season by running it back and adding one or two more role players, as they should improve at least a little bit simply by having a full training camp together. However, the Lakers have a history of being fixated on chasing stars, and doing so this summer simply cannot be ruled out.