A few months back, the Los Angeles Lakers were not even in Play-In spots. Flash-forward to May, and Darvin Hamās team made an impressive run to the Western Conference Finals. The Denver Nuggets swept them, but it was still an interesting resurgence.
All it took for the purple and gold to turn their season around was a major rebuild at the trade deadline. Rob Pelinka pulled off enough moves to give the Lakers a new look, and it worked pretty well. Still, the team couldnāt get where it really wants to be.
With the right changes, the Lakers could elevate themselves from a dangerous playoff team to a legit contender. The front office is reportedly ready to do whatever it takes to go after a championship next year, including parting with one of their February acquisitions.
Rumor: DāAngelo Russell may not return to Lakers
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Lakers may not re-sign DāAngelo Russell following his lackluster performances in the Nuggets series. The guard did great in the regular season, but his playoff appearances left much to be desired:
āThereās a strong argument to be made that Russell should have lost his starting job early on in this series, as it was quickly evident the Nuggetsā plan of attacking him on the defensive end was sparking their historically good offense.
āAdd in the fact that Russell has been unable to provide the scoring punch that made him such a good fit in these past few months, and itās been the kind of unmitigated disaster that will likely make free-agency discussions with the Lakers far more complicated than most had expected just a few weeks ago.ā
Russell will hit the open market this offseason, and while many thought he earned a place in LA in the last few months, the outlook may have changed after the Denver series. The Lakers have been linked with potential moves for Trae Young and Kyrie Irving, so weāll have to wait and see whether Russell comes back.
