Lakers’ Current Plan For D’Angelo Russell

The Los Angeles Lakers entered this offseason hoping to move on from D’Angelo Russell and add some competent pieces in his place.

They failed on both counts.

With the new NBA season rapidly approaching, L.A. finds itself in something of a precarious situation.

This week a notable ESPN analyst offered his thoughts on the Lakers’ current plan for Russell.

“At the end of the day, if the Lakers are going to be a championship-contending team that people want them to be, what they really need to do is turn D’Angelo Russell into a guy who can both hit threes and guard,” Tim Bontemps said on the Hoop Collective this week.

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“Austin Reaves is clearly a guy who’s part of their core going forward, D’Angelo Russell is not, which is why he was on his two-year makeshift deal in the first place… It’s why he opted into his contract this summer because he knew there wasn’t a big market for his services.”

The Lakers have been linked to one blockbuster trade in recent days, but aside from that, it is difficult to see a scenario where they can legitimately improve the roster.

For better or worse, Russell is currently their third or fourth best player.

Will the Lakers be able to find a taker for Russell at some point before now and the next NBA Trade Deadline? Time will tell.

Anthony Amador

A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school Games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.