Lakers News: Expert Believes LA Role Player Likely To Be Traded This Year
The Lakers got D'Angelo Russell back at the trade deadline last year as a part of the three team mega deal that sent away Russell Westbrook, and down the stretch, D-Lo kind of looked like that vintage former #2 overall pick that the Lakers drafted out of Ohio State in 2015.
He was a really consistent starter who averaged 17.4 points per game, and almost shot at 50% since he joined the Lakers. But that still wasn't enough to make him the plan for point guard going forward, as the lakers went out and acquired Gabe Vincent over the offseason.
This leads one NBA expert to believe that D-Lo could be traded to the Utah Jazz sometime near the NBA trade deadline this season.
“At the point guard position, though, there are more limited obvious options,” Larsen wrote. “I suppose the Jazz could trade for 19th-ranked D’Angelo Russell, but he found his way out of major playoff minutes by the conference finals last year. Maybe 24th-ranked Kevin Porter Jr. is a young option, but is not exactly a team-first player. I don’t like those choices.”
via Andy Larsen / The Salt Lake Tribune
Look, Vincent's numbers in his time in Miami last year were a little less than Russell's in LA, he averaged 9.4 points per game to Russell's 17.4, but his playoff prowess led people to believe that he could be a very viable option in the league, whether it's off the bench or starting.
Ultimately, I think D-Lo will be the day one starter with Vincent coming in off the bench.
The move to get Vincent was likely just to add depth to a roster that really needs it. We saw just how much they needed it last year when Anthony Davis and LeBron James both went down with injuries.
Could the Lakers move off of one of them at the deadline? Sure. Do I think it will happen? Probably not.
