D’Angelo Russell to Los Angeles
I’m cheating a bit by listing Russell as a shooting guard, but given how often LeBron James and Austin Reaves are on the ball for the Lakers, it’s not a huge exaggeration. He’s 6-4 just like Brogdon and Melton too. Russell’s acquisition has perhaps been slightly less notable than some of the others above, as the exile of Russell Westbrook had a bigger impact because it returned not just Russell but also brought in defensive ace Jarred Vanderbilt and cleaned up the Lakers’ rotation.
(Ironically, the one true shooting guard in this trade we all thought would make an impact hasn’t worked out: Malik Beasley hasn’t made enough shots to justify his leaky defense and has fallen out of the mix for L.A. One wonders if the Lakers will bother picking up his $16.6 million team option — and the tax implications that come with it — for next season.)
Nonetheless, the acquisition of Russell alone has been more impactful than some may realize. While he can frustrate with inattentive defense and a zest for tough pull-up 2s, Russell’s threat as a shooter is paramount in an offense that otherwise mostly beast-balls its way to the free-throw line.
Russell shot 41.4 percent from 3 in his 17 games as a Laker, but the threat of him shooting at all may be just as important. He’s the only Laker other than James attempting more than three triples a game in the playoffs, and in James’ case (22.9 percent), I don’t think opponents are really sweating it. As a result, Russell has become a massive floor-spacing asset, enough to keep him on the floor even against a Warriors guard rotation that normally would see him yanked for defensive purposes.
There’s reason to believe here in a larger sense too. Russell shot a career-best 39.6 percent from 3 this season; he’s always had a soft stroke but has the lowest usage rate of his career this season and has benefited from taking easier looks off the catch (this was true in Minnesota as well, where Anthony Edwards’ emergence pushed him off the ball more). Playing next to James and Anthony Davis should portend many more quality looks in the future.
Russell, like Hart above, is a free agent this summer, and while he isn’t worth the $31 million he’s currently making, the Lakers are strongly incentivized by the Bird Rights trap to bring him back. (The Lakers can have cap room, in theory. In practice, re-signing Russell, Reaves and Rui Hachimura and using exception money on free agents is a much more realistic roster-building approach.) As with Hart above, the significant expense of acquiring Russell and Vanderbilt (an unprotected 2027 first) also starts to look better if he’s more than a rental.
. Even if he does have a decent game he'll do something stupid at the worst possible time
