NBA Rumors: Lakers may have made a decision on D'Angelo Russell

The Los Angeles Lakers have gone way further than predicted, if we consider the position they were in before the trade deadline. But Rob Pelinka made the right adjustments on time to significantly improve the team’s position.

In the end, the Denver Nuggets were too much for LeBron James and company, but they still managed to turn the season around. From not even appearing in Play-In spots to making the Conference Finals is a remarkable improvement.

However, the purple and gold are a successful franchise, which is why everything they’ll do from now on will be to try and get back to glory days. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, they won’t offer D’Angelo Russell the two-year, max extension he’s eligible for.

Rumor: Lakers won’t offer Russell two-year max extension

“Russell is eligible to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension by June 30, which the Lakers will not pursue at the max number, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote.

… Beyond James’ retirement decision — which could be a nonissue, with a source close to James telling ESPN on Thursday that he believes the Lakers star will indeed be back for season No. 21 and fulfill his contract — the biggest question facing the Lakers this offseason is figuring out what to do at point guard.“

D’Angelo Russell wants to stay in LA

Russell may explore his options in the open market, but he already said he would love to continue in LA next season. It’s unclear whether the team plans to move on, but the guard is happy with the Lakers:

“As far as the future goes, I have no idea,” Russell said, via LakersNation. “I think when you put a group out there that knows the game and everybody wants the same goal I think you’ll have some success. But at some point, you’ll see you need that 50 games, you need that training camp, you need that offseason to kind of get over the hump and we didn’t have that. We made it to the Western Conference Finals, so I think the future’s bright. I think Rob Pelinka has some decisions to make, but that’s what his job is not mine. So would love to be here and be able to attend to it and contribute to that so we’ll see.”

Russell has been a key contributor for the Lakers in the second half of the season, playing a pivotal role in their run to the playoffs. However, he couldn’t deliver when the stakes were high, so his future with the team looks up in the air.