3 Ambitious sign-and-trade D’Angelo Russell trades Lakers should explore

D-Russ to the Toronto Raptors

If the Los Angeles Lakers are able to find a sign-and-trade for D’Angelo Russell this offseason, which is far from a guarantee, one potential team that could be seemingly be viewed as a potential working partner is the Toronto Raptors. That’s mainly due to the fact that Fred VanVleet is eligible to test free agency this offseason and there’s at least a non-zero chance that he ends up leaving Toronto.

As stated in this article, VanVleet is a player that could emerge as a target for the Lakers. However, that would largely hinge on Toronto’s willingness (and Russell’s) to make this all work. At least right now, that’s far from a guarantee. Nevertheless, if that scenario does emerge for the Lakers, this is absolutely a sign-and-trade deal that they would theoretically be very much interested in.

To get this deal done, I’d have to imagine that a future first-round pick will be part of the icing on the cake that the Raptors would need to come to an agreement. The big question is whether the Lakers believe parting ways with a future pick would be worth it if it meant signing VanVleet.