With free agency just around the corner, the NBA rumor mill is approaching critical mass. All 30 organizations have their sights set on upgrading their rosters, all while trying to maintain some semblance of fiscal responsibility, and those conflicting priorities are often what make this time of year so compelling for fans.
For a team like the Lakers, they’ve already achieved their primary objective of finalizing the Anthony Davis trade, putting another superstar alongside LeBron James and ideally solving some of the residual resentment from the botched deadline deal. But there’s still plenty of work to be done to fill out their roster.
With Lonzo Ball gone, they have a glaring hole at the point guard position, and strangely enough, the solution to their future may lie in revisiting the past. With the uncertainty in Brooklyn regarding their pursuit of Kevin Durant and/or Kyrie Irving, D’Angelo Russell could be the odd man out and looking for a change of venue.
According to the latest report from Shams Charania of The Athletic, his former team is actively exploring the possibility of bring him back into the fold.
The Lakers have serious interest in Nets restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell, L.A.’s former No. 2 overall pick and former starting point guard, league sources said. The Lakers’ interest in Russell is real, and has been described as something that the organization has had partly due to their familiarity with Russell. After all, they traded Russell to the Nets in 2017 before drafting Lonzo Ball. Russell has blossomed into an All-Star, a top free agent, and the Lakers would pursue him by utilizing part of the expected $24-28 million in salary cap space. His restricted status will make a potential signing interesting, considering the Nets have the right to match.
And if the latest rumors are to be believed, the feeling might be mutual. Magic Johnson was responsible for jettisoning Russell to the Nets in 2017, calling him immature and questioning his leadership on the way out the door, but Johnson is gone and the former team president has likewise changed his tune on the topic of Russell’s possible return.
Much of this, of course, is contingent on how the KD/Kyrie situation plays out, and the Nets have expressed some reluctance about signing Irving if they’re unable to also get Durant. Still, Russell’s return to L.A. would offer no shortage of intrigue, given his unseemly exit two summers ago.
