After two seasons with the Lakers in the earliest stages of his career, D’Angelo Russell was traded by the organization in a deal that landed them Brook Lopez and the right to Kyle Kuzma.
After a couple of stops in Brooklyn, Golden State, and Minnesota, Russell finally returned to his former team, and things couldn’t be going better. So much so, in fact, that the former All-Star is ready to take the mantle as L.A.’s point guard of the future.
“D’Angelo Russell very much wanted a second chance in LA with the Lakers and you’ve seen the impact he made coming back against Toronto the other night, playing great in a win, and again tonight,” said Adrian Wojnarowski, via Jacob Rude of Silver Screen & Roll. “He wants to be the point guard of the future for this organization. He’ll be a free agent this summer.”
Russell has been on fire since re-joining the Lakers. Through six games, he’s averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 assists, and 4 rebounds per game on 53% shooting. The Lakers have also played much better since his return, going 7-3 in their last 10 games.
So, D’Lo is obviously a good fit for L.A., and it would make sense for both sides to seek a long-term agreement. But there is another player out there who could throw a wrench in this scheme: Kyrie Irving.
Will Lakers Choose Kyrie Or D’Angelo?
Russell will undoubtedly want to get paid this summer, and the Lakers will have to decide if they are okay with giving him what he wants. If not, they could take a hard look at Kyrie Irving, who is the kind of star player that the team has been searching for since they won the title in 2020.
Kyrie brings his own concerns, of course, but he’s still a better player than D’Lo and has experience playing, and winning, with LeBron James before.
So, it seems the Lakers will have some tough decisions to make. They can play it safe and re-sign Russell, or they can risk it all for the big fish in Kyrie Irving. But with so much at stake, the Purple and Gold cannot afford to get this wrong.
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