The Los Angeles Lakers are likely still reeling from their Western Conference Finals series loss to the Denver Nuggets, but they will also need to start planning their offseason decisions right now.
One of the things that they will have to decide on is the future of point guard D’Angelo Russell. That might end up getting expensive, though, as D’Angelo Russell reportedly wanted a four-year, $100 million deal prior to getting moved to the Lakers.
“Then there’s the matter of Russell, who was seeking a new deal worth upward of $100 million over four years when he was with the [Minnesota] Timberwolves, sources said,” wrote Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “After an inconsistent postseason, it’s hard to imagine many bidders for Russell at that price point.”
With that being said, it is hard to see anyone giving D’Angelo Russell that sort of money after the playoffs, as Fischer mentions in his report. However, it is still possible that a team will give him a lucrative contract and take a risk on his offensive capabilities.
In the playoffs, D’Angelo Russell averaged 13.3 PPG, 2.9 PPG, and 4.6 APG for the Los Angeles Lakers. It is clear that this was a tough postseason run for him right before free agency, and we’ll see how this affects his contract.
LeBron James Is Reportedly Not A Fan Of D’Angelo Russell
Besides his poor performance in the playoffs, there are other reasons that D’Angelo Russell might not end up getting re-signed. A recent report suggested that superstar LeBron James is not a fan of D’Angelo Russell.
“I hate to say one playoff series can change a franchise’s whole outlook on a guy because that just does not happen, but it is happening with some of the people in that building, maybe most significantly, with LeBron,” the Western Conference executive said, per Heavy Sports. “Is this a guy they want to invest in? Does LeBron want him back — there is talk that he is not Russell’s biggest fan.”
There is no doubt that this could be concerning for D’Angelo Russell’s future prospects with the Lakers. Hopefully though, this is just one of those rumors that is part of regular NBA coverage. It is in the Lakers’ best interest to retain D’Angelo Russell, and we’ll see what ends up happening in the future.
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