The biggest personnel question facing the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, other than whether LeBron James may actually retire, is whether guard D’Angelo Russell will return.
He was perhaps the most impactful player they traded for at midseason, and he did very well in 17 regular-season games with them, putting up 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 48.4% overall and 41.4% from 3-point range.
But he was inconsistent during the playoffs and downright bad in the Western Conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. It got to the point where head coach Darvin Ham brought him off the bench in Game 4.
Unless the Lakers fully intend to go after a bigger name at point guard, they will still likely look to keep Russell, who will be a free agent this summer, on a new contract. But they will not pay him top dollar.
Via ESPN:
“Russell is eligible to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension by June 30, which the Lakers will not pursue at the max number, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.”
One thing that could help the Lakers is the fact there may not be a big market for him elsewhere.
“And the market could be flat for the 27-year-old Russell, as the teams with that type of cap space this summer — Houston, San Antonio, Utah, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Detroit and Indiana — are either still in rebuild mode or already filled at the position.”
In the absence of a big deal for someone such as Kyrie Irving, L.A, will certainly need Russell’s ball-handling, facilitating and scoring abilities to reduce James’ workload, especially during the regular season.