D’Angelo Russell has been a topic of conversation dating back to the beginning of the offseason because he surprisingly picked up his player option for the 2024-25 season.
Russell was expected to opt out and pursue a new deal with the Los Angeles Lakers or another team, but by picking up the option he subjected himself to being traded during the year.
As an expiring contract, Russell could be a solid trade asset for a team looking to offload long-term salary. However, up to this point the Lakers have been unable to find a trade partner for Russell and will likely need to wait until the annual NBA trade deadline to make a move.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Los Angeles is signaling Russell can be had and are looking to specifically shore up the front court:
“D’Angelo Russell is on the block and is going to be available as outgoing salary for the Lakers,” Fischer said. “The center spot is a spot that we know Los Angeles has been looking to upgrade and will be looking to upgrade. We mentioned Brook Lopez at the top of this show; he is someone that I was told is on the Lakers’ list of potential targets. As we said before, Jonas Valanciunas is another name I’d keep an eye on for the future there, and someone that I was told over the summer was on the Lakers internal board of center options.”
The Lakers’ need for a center is not new considering they were linked to several different big men in free agency, but it does confirm that the team is focused on addressing the position in any deal they make. Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez would be a great floor-spacing, shot-blocking partner for Anthony Davis, while the Washington Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas could eat up some of the harder defensive matchups against true centers.
Although Russell emphasized that he’ll do whatever it takes to help Los Angeles win games, it feels like his time with the franchise could be coming to an end.
LeBron James credits D’Angelo Russell for making sacrifice to move to bench
Adding more fuel to the fire is that head coach JJ Redick recently decided to bring D’Angelo Russell off the bench to balance out the lineup. After the Lakers’ recent win against the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James credited Russell for making the sacrifice and accepting a bench role.
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