At midseason, the Los Angeles Lakers were several games under .500 and unable to gain any ground. They appeared headed for another failure of a season.
Then came the trades, including the Russell Westbrook trade that brought D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. Of the three who arrived in return for Westbrook, Russell had the biggest hand in turning the season around.
The Lakers had the second-best regular season record after the All-Star break as Russell played very well, and he helped them reach the Western Conference finals. Unfortunately, they were swept there by the Denver Nuggets as Russell seemingly couldn’t hit a shot.
But he still feels the season was a complete success.
D’Angelo Russell sees this year as a “complete success” even though the outcome wasn’t what he wanted. pic.twitter.com/7IbNjUDp0v
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) May 24, 2023
“Complete success,” said Russell. “Honestly, it’s been a great time, it’s been a great experience to come back and be in this position as prepared as I was. … Being able to just adjust and just get thrown into the fire with the team and try to figure it out on the fly and make it to the Western Conference finals, a complete success.”
Russell will be a free agent this summer, and there is plenty of speculation he may not be back, especially if the Lakers go after Kyrie Irving yet again. But bringing him back at a reasonable salary would not exactly be a bad idea, especially after he shot 48.4% and 41.4% from 3-point range with the team during the regular season.
