LOS ANGELES, Calif. – D’Angelo Russell has played his best basketball as a Laker over the team’s past six games. The point guard, now in his second stint with Los Angeles, has had his name mentioned as a potential trade candidate recently and may be playing for his future with the franchise.
Russell has responded by averaging over 27 points and seven assists on 51 percent shooting from three during the stretch. With LeBron James sitting out against the Clippers on Tuesday night, the Lakers third option stepped into the lead role.
Russell paced Los Angeles with a team-high in points (27), assists (10), and minutes (40).
“He is a high IQ basketball player. He started off great and then went through a tough stretch, and now he has regained his form,” said Darvin Ham before the game. “He is a guy that tries to make the right play. He can easily make plays for himself but also continues to look for his teammates.”
Russell was drafted in 2015 and played with Kobe Bryant during his rookie season. It feels like he has been in the NBA forever, but he is still only 27. He is on a relatively team-friendly contract for a player averaging over 16 points and six assists while shooting over 40 percent from three.
Moving on from the former number two overall pick might be a huge mistake.
“He has a herky-jerky game that keeps the defense guessing. We trust him and try to empower him to be assertive and aggressive at all times,” said Ham.
What makes running this team so difficult is they are a win-now franchise with an aging superstar and an impatient fanbase that is used to winning. The biggest hold-up for the Lakers front office when it comes to acquiring top-end talent via trade for this season is that they only have one first-round pick to offer.
Russell is currently one of the only tradable assets. After this season, they can offer up to three first-round picks in a trade instead of just the one first-rounder in 2029.
This will give the team a lot more flexibility when it comes to keeping the players currently on the roster while also having the spending power to make the swing for another All-Star level player.
Even though they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 127-116, the Lakers showed some fight without James. They proved they have the players to compete with the top teams in the league come postseason time despite their 22-23 record.
“I thought we did a good job. There were a lot of cross-matches around the floor, and that is what their unit creates, a lot of cross-matches. For us, I thought we played solid defense,” said Russell after the loss. “We had a lot of opportunities and missed a lot of open shots which we can draw some positivity from, and we were missing LeBron James as well.”
Los Angeles can trade their lone first-round pick and pair it with Russell to get a player or two back that can help them during the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. The question is, will it actually move the needle and be an upgrade over what they have now?
Last year, during the deadline, they made a trade for the very player who is potentially on the move now. When they acquired D’Angelo Russell, the team went on an unexpected run all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Coming into this season, the mantra was to run it back.
Benjamin Verbrugge is a reporter for News4usonline who studied journalism at CSU Dominguez Hills. “Sports have brought me much joy throughout my life, and I want to give a little back to something that has meant so much to me.” Email Benjamin at benverbrugge8@gmail.com.