With a new head coach in place and the 2024 NBA Draft behind them, the Los Angeles Lakers are turning their focus toward personnel moves. Starting very soon, they will attempt to upgrade their roster in order to go from a playoff-level team to a championship-level team.
Doing so will likely require making at least one trade, if not a couple of them. Arguably their biggest trade chip, other than future draft picks, is starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who just turned in a terrific regular season.
Russell has a player option for the 2024-25 season, and he’s reportedly picking it up to stay with the Lakers.
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is picking up his $18.7 million player option for next season to stay in LA, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/H44wduSZL3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2024
The 28-year-old averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists a game while shooting a career-high 41.5% from 3-point range during the regular season. Of course, he struggled during the playoffs, continuing a trend that has gone on for several years.
However, the Lakers, if nothing else, will now have an important trade chip they can use on the open market. The fact that Russell will be on an expiring contract could be somewhat attractive to another team in trade discussions.
