D’Angelo Russell didn’t leave the Los Angeles Lakers under good terms. Things went sour between the team and the former No. 2 overall pick, and he was promptly shipped off to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017.
Russell is about to enter free agency, and rumor has it if the Nets decide to sign Kyrie Irving, he will not return to Brooklyn. The high-scoring combo guard will have plenty of suitors, but the Lakers were not expected to be on Russell’s list.
However, according to a story by Bleacher Reports Eric Pincus, there could be some discussion between Russell and L.A. with Magic Johnson now out of the picture.
Via B/R:
That’s certainly an interesting idea from a social perspective. But Russell is going to be spendy, and the Lakers won’t have as much money to spend as they previously thought thanks to Rob Pelinka failing to put stipulations about proper timing into the Anthony Davis trade.
Whomever the Lakers decide to add next to LeBron James and Davis, he will need to be a shooter. Russell had a better season from beyond the 3-point line last year, but he has shot better than 35 percent from the arc just once.
I’m not sure that’s a good enough indicator of future performance for a team like the Lakers. The next two seasons will be the most reasonable window for the James-Davis tandem to grab an NBA championship. If Russell can’t be relied upon, it could throw the whole thing out of whack.
Really, the rumor of Russell being open to heading back to Los Angeles is just another story to file under the “the NBA is wild” column.
