The Los Angeles Lakers have no margin of error. LeBron James just signed a two-year, $104 million contract confirming the window left for the King before retirement.
During the last few years, James has been delivering at a high level while the supporting cast has failed him. In 2023, although Anthony Davis kept an All-Star caliber, other names like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent or Jaxson Hayes underperformed.
As a consequence, general manager Rob Pelinka is running out of time. The Lakers made headlines in the NBA by drafting Bronny James, but, that won’t have an impact for a championship run as there are no big splashes in free agency.
D’Angelo Russell could be out of Lakers
According to a report from Jovan Buha, the Los Angeles Lakers are strongly considering to trade D’Angelo Russell. It all happened as a direct consequence of the guard accepting his player option of $18.7 million for the 2024-2025 season.
So, although Russell voluntarily decided to stay with the Lakers, the team’s front office might be going in another direction. The final decision will come in the upcoming days.