After a dismal Western Conference Finals showing, there was a real possibility that the Los Angeles Lakers would part ways with D’Angelo Russell.
Russell was the main piece coming back in the blockbuster trade that shipped Russell Westbrook out to the Utah Jazz, so getting rid of him after half a season was suboptimal. However, Russell’s poor performance against the Nuggets allowed the Lakers to sign him to a discounted two-year contract in free agency.
While some fans might be upset about Los Angeles bringing back the guard, it’s ultimately the right move as it’s never smart to lose an asset and get nothing back in return. Russell’s new deal is at a team-friendly number but has even more value after it was reported that he waived his implicit no-trade clause, via Keith Smith of Spotrac:
D'Angelo Russell's new two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers is guaranteed for $36M, a league source told @spotrac. The second season is a player option.
Russell has $700K in incentives in each season of the deal.
In addition, Russell waived his implied no-trade clause.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 10, 2023
Russell’s no-trade clause is a new quirk in the CBA that allows players to waive it at the time of signing:
It's believed Russell is the first player to agree to waive an implied no-trade clause.
This is a new rule in the new CBA. Players who have an implied NTC, due to losing Bird rights if traded, have the ability to waive that implied NTC upon signing, not just at the time of trade. https://t.co/CPS39d5oPv— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 10, 2023
Seeing someone like Russell waive a no-trade clause is a bit of a head-scratcher, though perhaps it was an arrangement with the Lakers in order to secure more guaranteed money. Russell’s market was cold in free agency and when most of the cap space around the league dried up, he probably didn’t have many options besides returning to L.A.
Without a no-trade clause to block a deal, Russell now becomes an even more valuable contract to have on the Lakers’ books going forward. The organization might be better off keeping him in order to preserve continuity and chemistry, but if the right deal comes along then Russell would surely be included.
Rob Pelinka grateful to successfully execute pre-agency plan
Keeping the core of the team together was a common refrain from Rob Pelinka during the offseason and he did just that by retaining Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Russell. After the news of the signings was made official, Pelinka expressed how grateful he was to successfully execute the team’s pre-agency plan.
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