D’Angelo Russell’s second stint with the Los Angeles Lakers may not continue for much longer this season. The Lakers have now experienced their first seesaw swing to the young 2024-25 NBA season after getting blown out by 24 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their last matchup.
That marked their second consecutive loss after starting the campaign undefeated at 3-0. Several factors have contributed to Los Angeles’ up-and-down start, but Russell has been the common denominator that has consistently underwhelmed thus far.
Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell is not playing up to his All-Star caliber this season
The former 2019 NBA All-Star has shot below 40 percent from the field in four of L.A.’s five games thus far. He’s also exceeded five assists on only one occasion. Most critically, Russell boasts a concerning 25 percent connect rate from three-point range.
The silver lining to the Ohio State product’s season so far is his immaculate 5.8-1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, but that efficient care of the ball is not outweighing the impact he’s not having on the offense. Russell is not known for his defense, and that is worsened by his slowed-down pace of play at times. That contributed to him getting traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Lakers back in the 2022-23 season, and it could be what causes him to get sent out from Los Angeles for a second time at some point this year.
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Lakers: Russell’s strong suits & contract could make him a desired trade option
Russell is a great distributor, an excellent outside shooter, and one of the few players in the Association who can be counted on to come up big in the clutch. However, as has been the case throughout his career, he suffers cold spells that can sometimes last a long time, and he’s also prone to taking the air out of an offense with the way he executes with the ball in his hand in the half court.
Thus, the Lakers may be wise to look for a franchise that’ll take the 28-year-old off their hands and compensate them with a player who can address one of their other needs. Los Angeles is void of a starting center and could move Russell to a team in need of point guard help in exchange for a quality big.
Most teams are set at floor general, but ball clubs like the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets who could use a primary or secondary playmaker could be suitable trade partners for L.A., especially in their current rebuilding and re-tooling stages.
Seeing that Russell is only on the Lakers’ books until the end of the season, earning $18.69 million, his expiring contract could be even more attractive to other teams and allow L.A. to get back something in return for his services as opposed to potentially watching him walk in free agency next offseason.
