Lakers News: New Prediction Reveals When LA Could Trade D'Angelo Russell

Jeremy Hanna | Nov 8, 2024

Nov 4, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) dribbles in the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 4-4 record. While they started off strong, Los Angeles hasn't met the same standards since.

While there are plenty of excellent players on the Lakers roster, it's clear that some changes need to be made, with most fans and experts pointing at trading guard D'Angelo Russell.

Russell had an excellent regular season last year, averaging 18 points, 6.3 assists, 3.1 total rebounds, and 0.9 steals. However, his quality of play dropped in the playoffs, averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 assists, 2.8 total rebounds, and 0.8 steals.

Unfortunately, Russell has reflected his postseason self this year, averaging 12 points, 5.8 assists, 2.3 total rebounds, and one steal per game.

Still, Russell has excellent trade value since he is known to be a fantastic shooter. And Bill Simmons of The Ringer believes that trade could come sooner rather than later.

"[The Lakers] still have a D'Lo trade to make, which I'm sure we will be getting passive aggressive hints about fairly soon," Simmons said on his podcast. "I have it on my calendar for Nov. 15. But to me, they just seem pretty far away from the best teams in the league at this point."

While most people expect Los Angeles to target Trae Young of the Atlanta Falcons, Simmons feels like a trade with the Brooklyn Nets could add more depth to the team.

“Could they package [Dennis] Schroder and [Dorian] Finney-Smith to the Lakers for the [D’Angelo Russell] contract, Christian Wood, something else and get one of those first-round picks from the Lakers that they’re still hoarding? They probably could," Simmons said. "Would that be a good trade for the Lakers? It actually would be."

Schroder would make a great addition to the Lakers. So far this season, he has averaged 19.9 points, 7.3 assists, three total rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.

Meanwhile, Finney-Smith could add some great support to Anthony Davis under the rim. This year, he has averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 total rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

The most significant contribution these players would would be defensively, something that the Lakers are severely lacking.

While it would be said to see Russell leave the team, there's no doubt that additions like these could help Los Angeles overall. Looks like we'll have to wait until Nov. 15 to find out.

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