The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves down 3-0 against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. And the biggest disappointment has been the poor performance of D’Angelo Russell, who has been borderline unplayable.
Russell’s scoring, his main asset, has been off this series. He has scored just 21 points in three games, and it has reportedly thrown his future with the team into doubt.
“There’s a strong argument to be made that Russell should have lost his starting job early on in this series, as it was quickly evident the Nuggets’ plan of attacking him on the defensive end was sparking their historically good offense,” Sam Amick wrote for The Athletic.
“Add in the fact that Russell has been unable to provide the scoring punch that made him such a good fit in these past few months, and it’s been the kind of unmitigated disaster that will likely make free-agency discussions with the Lakers far more complicated than most had expected just a few weeks ago.”
D’Angelo Russell’s stock had gone quite high before the series, with many believing that the Lakers had unlocked him after his struggles in Minnesota. He averaged 17.4 points per game for the Lakers after the trade in the regular season and was a big contributor in turning their season around.
Naturally, this made him a prime candidate for retention, considering that he is a free agent in the summer. But his performances have heavily reduced his minutes during this series, and it seems to have become a major factor in throwing his future with the team into doubt.
D’Angelo Russell Gave A Vague Answer When Asked About Staying With The Lakers
With the Lakers reportedly giving up on the idea of acquiring Kyrie Irving, it seemed like a no-brainer that they would retain Russell. But the team’s choice isn’t the only one that matters in this situation. Russell is an unrestricted free agent, and when asked about staying with the team, his comments didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
“I would love to stay here, but I would have loved to be in Minnesota too. So wherever my feet are, that’s where I’m gonna be.”
The Lakers are hanging by a thread in the Conference Finals, but they might still be able to pull off a miraculous comeback. That might change the situation again, but one way or another, the team looks at D’Angelo Russell differently than they did before.
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