Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell is eligible to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension by June 30. If the NBA All-Star and the Lakers don’t agree to an extension, Russell will become an unrestricted free agent.
D’Lo played well for the Lakers during the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. However, he struggled mightily in the Western Conference Finals and his poor play may have cost him some money.
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Lakers will not pay Russell max money this offseason.
“Russell is eligible to sign a two-year, $67.5 million extension by June 30, which the Lakers will not pursue at the max number, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote. “And the market could be flat for the 27-year-old Russell, as the teams with that type of cap space this summer — Houston, San Antonio, Utah, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Detroit and Indiana — are either still in rebuild mode or already filled at the position.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
The Lakers acquired Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves at the February trade deadline and the Ohio State product played well in his 17 games with Los Angeles, averaging 17.4 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc.
Russell also put up solid numbers in the first two rounds of the postseason versus the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors. The Louisville native averaged 15.7 points and 5.0 assists. He also scored 31 points in Game 6 against the Grizzlies.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving & Los Angeles Lakers Updates
However, Russell was really bad against the Nuggets. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 32.3% from the floor and 13.3% from 3. It got so bad for the lefty that Lakers head coach Darvin Ham removed Russell from the starting lineup in Game 4.
LeBron James is “not” a fan of Russell, according to Heavy Sports senior insider Sean Deveney. The King wants the Lakers to get Kyrie Irving. It will be interesting to see who the starting point guard in LA is next season.
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