Trading D'Angelo Russell Could Hurt Lakers Chances Through Remainder of Season

The Lakers made their first big trade of the season. It could end up hurting them.

Dec 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell (1) moves the ball against Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers made their first big move of the season when they traded away D'Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. Three second-round picks were also sent to Brooklyn in the deal from the Lakers. It was one of the first major trades this season.

In the deal, the Lakers clearly prioritized defense over offense. Finney-Smith is one of the best wing defenders in the league. Meanwhile, Russell has consistently been one of the worst defenders the Lakers have had on their roster in the backcourt for the last couple of seasons.

Los Angeles is hoping to now be one of the defensive teams in the Western Conference moving forward. However, trading away Russell doesn't come without significant risk. Without him, the Lakers don't have a lot of primary ball-handling and someone who can initiate offense for others.

Despite the fact that the Lakers have an all-time player in LeBron James who is one of the best passers in history, the Lakers don't have enough playmaking on the roster anymore. Gabe Vincent is the only true point guard that they have left in the rotation. If Milton takes Russell's spot in the rotation, that helps, but he's still not a great passer.

Russell, for all of his flaws, can be an incredible passer. He sees things that other point guards do not and has creative angles of attack for his passes. Without him, the Lakers are down to just James who can do that for others. That's putting even more pressure on someone who is 40 years old.

The Lakers can still fix this issue by making a move for an offensive-minded guard closer to the trade deadline. That would be the best thing for them to do if the offense starts to clog up. They are going to have to see how things go with who is available closer to the deadline.

Lakers fans might have to get used to seeing a lot fewer assists from the Lakers in the future. There are going to be a lot more possessions that end with guys creating their own shots or James ending up as the assisting player. That's the biggest downside to this trade for the Lakers.

If the Lakers play elite defense, the tradeoff will be worth it. That's what they are banking on.

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