Lakers player Russell will exercise his 18.7 million player option to stay with the Lakers next season, according to Shams of The Athletic.
In the just-concluded 2023-2024 season, there have been rumors that the Lakers are going to trade Russell, and even a reporter took a photo of Russell secretly wiping his tears between games, and Reaves next to him patted him to comfort him, but until the end of the season, this deal was not implemented, which also disappointed Lakers fans, because they would prefer to get a stable and more capable guard.
Last season, the Hawks and the Lakers had no stop negotiating with the Lakers about trading Murray, especially before the end of last season's trade deadline, the Lakers were said to have talked to the Hawks to the substantive stage, and it was generally believed in the league that the Lakers would restart trade negotiations with the Hawks about Dejounte Murray, but with Murray having been traded to the Pelicans earlier, this incident has come to an end.
Murray was thrilled to be traded to the Pelicans, writing on his social media: "New Orleans, 504. And 504 is the area code for Louisiana, where the New Orleans Pelicans are located. Then Dejounte Murray also posted a video, in which he also shouted excitedly.
The reason why the Lakers did not have the latest progress with the Hawks about trading Murray is because in the just-concluded draft, the management was more focused on how to sign Bronny and ignored the most important roster adjustments and how to strengthen the team, and it was during this time that the Pelicans strengthened their offensive to persuade the Hawks, and after the Hawks selected the champion Lisachet, they were full of confidence and urgency for the team's future rebuild, and there was no time to mediate negotiations with the Lakers, so the Lakers' desire to trade Murray was completely frustrated.
This time, Russell exercised the player option because he really wanted to stay with the Lakers and see what changes the coaching staff led by Redick could bring to the team, but it is estimated that his desire may be disappointed again, according to a person familiar with the matter, if Russell chooses to exercise the player option, then the final result he will still face being traded.