D’Angelo Russell says he is returning to the Lakers next season. The Lakers may have other ideas.
Russell will pick up his $18.7 million player option for next season to remain in Los Angeles, a story broken by Jordan Richard of Swish Cultures. Russell explained why to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
The Lakers may not see it that way.
Los Angeles explored trading Russell around last February’s trade deadline but improved play from D-Lo around that time and a lack of a market led to him staying in Los Angeles. Now that Russell has opted in, the Lakers are going to explore that trade market again, something Jovan Buha wrote about at The Athletic.
After failing to trade Russell ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, the Lakers are expected to be aggressive in pursuing Russell-centric trades, according to league and team sources. Russell’s expiring contract immediately becomes one of Los Angeles’ more valuable trade assets, particularly for salary-matching purposes.
Russell brings value, he averaged 18 points and 6.3 assists a game last season, however he struggled in the playoffs against Denver. The Lakers are committed to Austin Reaves in their backcourt and the Reaves/Russell pairing has its limitations, so Los Angeles will look for a trade. They also have two first-round picks they can use in a deal.
However, it’s not going to be easy to pull off. Russell opting in put the Lakers over the first luxury tax apron, which means they cannot bring back more money in a trade than they send out — a trade of Russell has to be for a player making $18.7 million or less. Also, the Lakers roster is full at 15 players (assuming Cam Redish picks up his option and LeBron James re-signs with the team), so if they bring back multiple players they would need to waive someone and eat that salary.
Also on the Lakers news front, center Jaxson Hayes is picking up his player option and will return to the team.
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes is exercising his $2.4 million player option to return for the 2024-25 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Hayes reunites with new coach JJ Redick. pic.twitter.com/FCmbZAWwoK
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2024
