3 bold predictions for the Lakers offseason

Lakers bold offseason prediction: D’Angelo Russell welcomed back

This would not be viewed favorably by the Lakers’ fanbase. D’Angelo Russell was quite poor in the playoffs. He was borderline unplayable in the Denver series, to the point where he lost his spot in the starting lineup. But the Lakers will have to make difficult decisions based on the financial landscape of the NBA.

Let’s lay it all out again: Paul and Irving are off the table. Reaves gets paid too much and bolts for greener pastures. The Lakers can re-sign Dennis Schroder around the veteran minimum, but he’s not good enough to be the only full-time point guard on the team. Russell, for all his postseason woe, was very productive in the regular season: 17.8 points and 6.2 assists on .469/.396/.829 splits.

The Lakers should be able to keep Russell on a discount. There’s just no market for him. The teams with cap space are rebuilding and won’t want to invest long-term money in Russell. Any contender should be wary about spending too much after Russell’s playoff run. Any hypothetical sign-and-trade is unlikely. The Mavs don’t want him for Irving; the Suns won’t want him for Paul. Toronto for Fred VanVleet sounds nice on paper, but why does Toronto want Russell?

The Lakers can let Russell eat minutes in the regular season and hope alternatives emerge once the postseason arrives (the alternative might be handing the starting reigns to Dennis Schroder again). Russell is probably better than his strongest detractors suggest, but his name carries more weight than his on-court impact at this point. If the Lakers can strike the proper balance with a reasonable contract extension, in the absence of better options, Russell will be back with the team.