D’Angelo Russell has been so good for the Los Angeles Lakers that he has them forgetting about the Kyrie Irving offseason possibility.
As their inconsistent season quickly comes to an end (that may or may not include a postseason run, that is yet to be played out), the Los Angeles Lakers still have plenty of heavy lifting heading into the offseason. They must figure out what this team is going to look like moving forward next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and I’m not sure there are any easy answers.
At least not right now. And perhaps there will be a clearer picture of that depending on how the season ends. But, one thing is for sure, the Lakers have some interesting decisions that must be made this summer.
And one player that the Lakers have been linked to since last offseason is Kyrie Irving, who conveniently will be a free agent after this season.
Even after Kyrie was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, there were still reports that linked him to the Lakers. However, it appears that newly acquired (and, ironically, former) point guard D’Angelo Russell has the Lakers forgetting about the offseason possibility of signing Kyrie.
D’Angelo Russell has been good for the Los Angeles Lakers
Since his acquisition at the NBA Trade Deadline, it’s hard not to say that Russell has been good for the Lakers. Since the move, Russell is averaging 19 points, six rebounds, and four rebounds on 47 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range.
He’s been everything that Russell Westbrook wasn’t for the team and his added offensive efficiency is something that the Lakers could’ve used all season long – it makes you think why they didn’t decide to pull the trigger on such a move sooner, and where the team would be in the Western Conference standings if they had.
And because of how good Russell has been for the Lakers through his eight games played, it should come as no surprise that it’s already been reported both sides are interested in a contract extension during the offseason.
`All that said, I have to believe that a lot of what the Lakers end up doing in the offseason when it comes to roster construction will be dictated by how this season ends for the team. For many reasons, the Lakers are one team that is playing for much more than just a playoff spot right now.