3 players the Lakers should target in a D'Angelo Russell trade

There's a lot to like about the Los Angeles Lakers right now. Anthony Davis has been a one-man wrecking crew, LeBron James is a triple-double machine, and new head coach JJ Redick has taken a roster that's virtually unchanged from a year ago and jumped out to a 7-4 start.

The Lakers are one of only three teams in the league that haven't lost at home, but they've struggled to a 1-4 record away from Crypto.com Arena. That's one reason that most around the league are skeptical that they're ready to ascend to true contender status, but it's not the only one.

While AD and LeBron appear to be playing at or near the peak of their powers, D'Angelo Russell has been a disappointment. The point guard was recently criticized by Redick for what his head coach called "a lack of compete," which precipitated a move out of the starting lineup.

Between the playmaking of LeBron and Austin Reaves (who have 9.4 and 5.3 assists per game, respectively), the Lakers have all the shot creation that they need. That lessens the need for a traditional point guard like Russell.

Russell opted in to his player option this summer, which means that he's playing this year on an expiring deal. There are few assets that rebuilding NBA teams covet more than a contract that's about to come off the books, and with the Lakers having many of the components needed to make a deep run, they can now look to trade Russell for a piece that would help them more on the court.

The NBA trade deadline isn't until February, but Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka should already be on the phone with non-contending teams to try to upgrade L.A.'s roster. Here are three players he should be calling about in a possible Russell trade.

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Cam Johnson

If the idea of trading Russell to the Brooklyn Nets brings about a strong sense of deja vu, that's because we've seen this move before. Back in 2017, then-Lakers GM Magic Johnson sent Russell and Timofey Mozgov (remember him?) to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and a first-round pick.

Cam Johnson is exactly the type of player the Lakers could use. He's excellent from beyond the arc (39.1 percent for his career), he's a good defender and he takes care of the basketball to an extreme degree, recently setting an NBA record with seven straight games of 30+ minutes and zero turnovers.

The best LeBron James teams have always surrounded him with shooters. Austin Reaves is dependable from deep, and it seems that rookie Dalton Knecht broke out in Wednesday's win over the Grizzlies, but other than that, there aren't many marksmen on this roster. Johnson would be a great fit, and he's still under contract for two more years after this.

The Nets have surprised the NBA by looking surprisingly frisky thus far. Their 5-7 record may not sound like much, but in an even weaker-than-normal Eastern Conference, that might be enough to convince GM Sean Marks that he should keep the team together to make a playoff push. That could complicate any possible Johnson trade, but with Cooper Flagg looming as the pot of gold at the end of the tanking rainbow, the bet is that the Nets and others won't push to contend.

Zach LaVine

There's almost always a catch for any team trying to acquire a star via trade. Either the trade target has worn out his welcome in his current home, he has an established injury history, or both. That makes any deal inherently risky.

Zach LaVine is the perfect test case for what kind of risk appetite Rob Pelinka might have. At his best, he's an ultra-athletic wing that can turbocharge his team's transition game and pour it in from outside. At his worst, he's too fragile to stay on the court and "not a winning player."

LaVine has been in trade rumors for what seems like forever, but an ankle injury that forced him to miss most of last season kept him in Chicago. He's putting his best foot forward in the early going this season though, which raises the possibility that he'll be dealt.

LaVine is still playing above the rim, but he's also shooting a career-best 42.6 percent from three. The Lakers could use his athleticism and shooting in a big way, and they can make a trade for Russell work by adding Rui Hachimura and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Like the Nets, the Bulls have been surprisingly fun to watch this year. Unlike the Nets, the Bulls have never really gone all-in on tanking, which has kept them on the fringes of the playoff picture for years now. Trading LaVine would instantly help their lottery chances, and though they don't have much use for Russell with Coby White and Josh Giddey already on the team, they could re-gift him to a point guard-needy team for a draft pick and cap savings.

To do a deal, the Lakers would have to decide if they feel comfortable enough about LaVine's health to stake their season on it. If they're willing to take the plunge, this is the kind of high-risk, high-reward move that could really make a difference.

Brandon Ingram

Sometimes to go forward, you have to go back. The Lakers employed Brandon Ingram once upon a time, and with the Pelicans rumored to have been shopping him for some time now, Pelinka could swoop in and add one of the most underrated scorers in the game for a similar package to what it would take to land LaVine.

Ingram was a fine young player during his first three years in L.A., but he's evolved since joining the Pelicans. He's averaged over 20 points per game for six seasons in a row, and this year he's been one of the few bright spots on a New Orleans team that has faltered to a 3-9 record.

The Pelicans have been killed by injuries this year. Zion Williamson is out indefinitely with a strained hamstring. Dejounte Murray has been out since Opening Night with a fractured hand. CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Jordan Hawkins have all missed multiple games. Ingram and Jose Alvarado have been the only Pelicans regulars that have been able to stay on the court, but even Alvarado recently went down with a hamstring strain of his own.

The Pelicans were hopeful that they would be able to contend this year, but it's clear that they're in the midst of the year from hell. A pivot to the lottery is a no-brainer, and trading Ingram would help facilitate that.

New Orleans will need someone that's healthy enough to suit up if they trade Ingram away, and Russell would be a great fit to fill in for Murray and Alvarado. Hachimura is a solid player that can eat up minutes but won't make a difference in the win column, while Hood-Schifino could be given the minutes to develop on a team that's playing out the string.

It's not difficult to see how JJ Redick could use Ingram to great effect around LeBron and Davis. Trading Russell and Hachimura for Ingram could also open a spot for Knecht in the starting lineup. LeBron at point forward surrounded by Reaves, Ingram, Knecht and Davis would be one of the most potent offensive lineups in the league.