Lakers News: D'Angelo Russell Discusses Impending Free Agency

LA's starting point guard has been improving of late.

Los Angeles Lakers starting point guard D'Angelo Russell had a stellar showing in LA's blowout Game 3 win over the Golden State Warriors, which helped elevate the club to a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.

The 6'4" lead guard out of Ohio State scored 21 points on 8-of-13 field goals (and 5-of-8 from long range), he dished out five dimes (against five turnovers), pulled down three rebounds, and blocked one shot.

In the ongoing series against his former Warriors teammates, he's averaging 16.7 points while shooting 50% from the field (including 37.5% from long range), 6.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.

Russell spoke with Sam Amick of The Athletic about his upcoming unrestricted free agency.

“I would love to stay here, but I would have loved to be in Minnesota too,” Russell said. “So wherever my feet are, that’s where I’m gonna be.”

When asked how he felt LA was going to handle his free agency this summer, Russell was curt.

"They’ve got a decision to make, don’t they? So we’ll see.”

Talk soon turned to the Timberwolves.

“I felt they couldn’t pay me, so I kind of expected it,” Russell noted. “I felt like I was gonna outplay my (Timberwolves) offer, whatever they wanted to offer me, and then I’d be in a position where I’d have to make a decision. And I just kind of held my cards tight and let the basketball gods take over.”

Although Russell is suiting up alongside two ball-dominant stars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, he feels that LA has given him a more open-ended playmaking role than he had with Minnesota stars Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“I felt like I was held back there, honestly,” he noted. “I just kind of had to be the third option. Some nights, I was a little more aggressive and was kind of being held back. So to be in a position now where I can kind of thrive and be aggressive and it gets guys going, and where the team reflects off of anybody with that type of energy, it’s fun.”

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