Los Angeles Lakers
1 Player who definitely won't be on the roster next season: D'Angelo Russell
There may not be a player on the Los Angeles Lakers who has been traded by fans more over the course of this season than D'Angelo Russell. And with a player option for next season, with the belief that he's going to test the market this summer, you'd have to imagine that there's a very good chance that Russell is playing one of his final games with the Lakers. I can't imagine the Lakers are going to pay Rusell the type of contract that he's going to be offered in free agency.
With the way he's played over the second half of the season, Russell is in line for a pretty big payday. Considering the Lakers need to improve their roster in a big way this summer, re-signing Russell doesn't make much sense for the team. Especially if they plan on upgrading the roster with a dynamic guard.
Even though Russell has been a big part of the Lakers' recent improved play, this always felt like a one-year extension. If Russell wasn't going to be traded in-season, he was almost certainly going to explore other options after. That's what' we're likely going to see this summer.