NBA Free Agency: Stock-up, stock-down based on the first round of the NBA Playoffs
By Ian Levy
NBA Free Agency stock down: D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell was arguably the Lakers’ most successful trade deadline acquisition and hugely important to the stretch run that helped them cruise through the Play-In Tournament and secure the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Some nagging injuries limited him to just 17 games after the trade but he played passable defense while averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game, shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.
However, he’s looked mightily out of place against the Grizzlies and his struggles will raise serious questions about how much the Lakers are willing to invest in him this summer. So far in the first round, Russell has averaged just 13.8 points per game on woeful shooting percentages. He hit a trio of huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Game 4 to help drive the Lakers’ comeback but other than that quarter he’s shot just 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
But his defense has been an even bigger problem. He’s been absolutely torched by Ja Morant, giving up 27 points and 5 assists on 66.7 percent shooting on 33 possessions as his primary defender. That’s necessitated the Lakers mostly stashing him on Dillon Brooks which, as mentioned above, is a pretty cake defensive assignment.
The Lakers might be able to get past the Grizzlies anyway but in hypothetical matchups against the Suns, Warriors, Kings or Nuggets, Russell is going to be tested a lot more defensively and there are no Dillon Brookses to hide him on.
The Lakers are almost certainly still going to make a run at signing Russell, they gave up a lot to trade for him and it’s not clear they could land anything significantly better with the $31ish million that would open if they let him walk. But if he isn’t making shots and continuing to be targeted on defense, that next yearly salary is going to take a hit.