The Los Angeles Lakers were unceremoniously bounced by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs this past year, and they haven’t really done much to improve this offseason.
The Lakers don’t have a whole lot of flexibility. Their salary cap situation is a mess, and they don’t possess any truly intriguing young talent or draft capital to use in trades.
As a result, most of Los Angeles’ answers will have to come in house if it wants to return to championship contention next season.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale sees one potential solution: bringing D’Angelo Russell off the bench.
Favale cites the Lakers’ lack of shot creation and ball-handling with LeBron James off the floor as a reason why it would be wise to allow Russell to lead the second unit.
He adds that Russell could also close games with the starters.
Given that LA doesn’t exactly have a whole lot of options otherwise, tinkering with the starting lineup may be the best way for the team to experience more success during the 2024-25 campaign.
How valuable is D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers?
This is, of course, Russell’s second stint in Hollywood. He was originally drafted by the Lakers back in 2015, but spent just two seasons in Los Angeles before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
Russell flourished with the Nets, making his first—and only—All-Star appearance in 2018-19. But since then, he has bounced around between several teams, spending time with the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves before finally re-joining the Lakers via trade in February 2023.
The Ohio State product is LA’s tertiary scorer behind James and Anthony Davis, so he absolutely provides value there. He also helps space the floor, as he made 41.5 percent of his three-point tries last year. The Lakers ranked 24th in three-point makes in 2023-24, so they obviously need Russell’s long-distance ability.
Russell’s issue is that he is an awful defender, which sometimes makes it difficult to keep him on the floor in certain matchups. That is especially the case when you aren’t a very good defensive team as is, and the Lakers ranked 17th in defensive efficiency this past season.
All of that said, Russell definitely brings considerable value to the table as an offensive threat, so finding a new way to incorporate him into the offense—and potentially altering his role in a positive way—could yield great results for Los Angeles.
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