According to Shams Charania, the Athletic's authoritative reporter, Los Angeles Lakers big man D'Angelo Russell (D'Angelo Russell) will choose to exercise the player option worth $18.69 million in his contract next season, and he will also remain with the Lakers. Shams said Russell thinks staying with the Lakers will make his career better, and he wants to see how new head coach JJ Redick and his new team will impact the Lakers' record through changes in game strategy.
According to ESPN salary expert Bobby Marks, with Russell opting to exercise the player option, the Lakers will have a total salary of more than $178.7 million next season after signing first-round pick Dalton Knecht, and they are just $4.8 million short of the second. Next, once the Lakers complete the contract extension of the wing star Max Christie, the team's total salary will most likely exceed the second local tyrant line, which will also directly affect the Lakers' subsequent operations.
In the NBA regular season this season, Russell played a total of 77 games for the team, averaging 32.7 minutes per game, averaging 18 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, shooting 45.6% from the field, 41.5% from three-point range, and 82.8% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Russell's performance in these five games still declined to a certain extent, his average playing time reached 37 minutes per game, averaging 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game, shooting 38.4% from the field, 31.8% from three-point range, and 50% from the free throw line.
In fact, the current situation of the Lakers has been clear, at least Russell's performance this season is very good, if Russell is missing, considering the team's record during the period when Austin Reaves (Austin Reaves) was the starting point guard, and the state of another point guard Gabe Vincent (Gabe Vincent) after returning from injury, whether the Lakers can enter the playoffs next. On the other hand, Russell's contract is definitely not cheap, and the Lakers' performance is actually beyond his contract, and the reason for the lack of stable market conditions is also closely related to his performance in the playoffs.
Given the current state of the team, the Lakers' most direct way to improve their competitiveness is to send away Russell and Vincent plus Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt in exchange for a better No. 1 player or a No. 2 player with super ball handling. But if it is not done properly, or if the team has an injury, the Lakers' record next season could fall straight to the bottom. Russell is indeed not a championship-caliber player, but is the goal of the Lakers team a championship?