The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into free agency with some optionality after D’Angelo Russell had a change of heart and decided to exercise his $18.7 million player option for the 2024-25 season.
Russell is hoping to stay with the Lakers where he can compete for a championship and thrive under new head coach JJ Redick. That decision is no longer up to him, however, as after opting in, he is eligible to be traded.
Given their lack of assets and matchable salaries, the Lakers are expected to explore trades involving Russell this offseason to upgrade their roster. While that may not be easy, the team reportedly believes the backcourt pairing of him and Austin Reaves has reached its ceiling, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“From the Lakers side, I’ve been told that internally, there is a sense that there is a clear ceiling to the Austin Reaves-D’Angelo Russell backcourt and with Reaves being the younger player, the better defender, the better playoff performer and on a team-friendly, multi-year contract, the Lakers would prefer to keep Austin Reaves out of a trade. And if they are going to split up this backcourt, they are looking to trade Russell, who they also tried to trade at the 2024 trade deadline.”
The Lakers preferring to keep Reaves is not shocking for the reasons that Buha laid out. He is on a team-friendly contract and has improved each season. Redick recently said he is looking forward to coaching Reaves, yet another signal that the guard won’t be traded.
Russell, on the other hand, has a more uncertain future with the organization. The team has been linked to players like Bruce Brown, Jerami Grant and Collin Sexton and trading for any of them would likely need to include Russell.
If the Lakers do follow through with trading Russell then they will need to find someone else to pair with Reaves in their backcourt, however, perhaps someone capable of taking on tough perimeter defensive assignments.
LeBron James opts out but expected to re-sign with Lakers
One of the other big decisions for a Lakers player this offseason was LeBron James, who had a player option for 2024-25.
James unsurprisingly will opt out of that deal, although the expectation is that he will remain with the Lakers on a new contract. According to reports, James may even be willing to take a bit of a pay cut so the Lakers can add more talent in free agency.
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