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On Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers opened free agency by making a couple of notable additions to their roster.
They brought in Taurean Prince, a 3-and-D forward, and Gabe Vincent, a ballsy guard known for his defense and helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals this season. Los Angeles also took a flyer on forward Cam Reddish, a former lottery pick who is yet to pan out.
But the team’s main objective has been to keep as much of its core intact as possible.
It came to terms with forward Rui Hachimura on a new contract, and it reportedly is trending toward also retaining guard D’Angelo Russell, possibly on a reasonable two-year deal (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via Yahoo Sports:
“The other strong word out of Hollywood is that the Lakers are trending toward bringing back D’Angelo Russell after acquiring him from the (Minnesota) Timberwolves at February’s trade deadline,” wrote Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports. “Early indications are that Russell and the Lakers could come to terms on a two-year, $40 million deal with the second year a team option or non-guaranteed.”
Russell’s arrival in February was one of the biggest reasons the Lakers went from a lottery-bound team to one that made it to the Western Conference finals.
Keeping him would be an excellent way for them to keep LeBron James’ workload manageable as the four-time MVP heads toward his 39th birthday in late December.