D’Angelo Russell’s And Lakers Reach 2-Year, $37 Million Deal
The point guard eligible for unrestricted free agency reached an agreement to sign a two-year, $37 million contract with the Lakers.
D'Angelo Russell's And Lakers Russell Reach 2-Year, $37 Million Deal
Last year’s Los Angeles Lakers season saw a disappointing conclusion to D’Angelo Russell’s comeback. He just made sure that the story would continue.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the point guard eligible for unrestricted free agency reached an agreement to sign a two-year, $37 million contract with the Lakers.
The Lakers obtained the most significant component of the return from the three-team transaction that got Russell Westbrook off the books earlier this year at the trade deadline.
The Lakers chose D’Angelo Russell second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, then moved him two years later, partly because of his notorious Snapchat incident with Nick Young. That deal sent Russell back to his previous team.
Before destiny took him back to Los Angeles, Russell spent time with the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Brooklyn Nets before becoming an All-Star with the Brooklyn Nets.
Russell proved more effective as the team’s starting point guard than Westbrook during his second stint with the Lakers. Russell hit 41.4% from outside the arc when playing for the Lakers, who were 12-5 when he was on the court, while Westbrook was a notoriously terrible shooter. His final regular-season stats as a Laker were 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game.
However, throughout the playoffs, the story suffered significantly. The Lakers were swept by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets because of D’Angelo Russell’s absence in the Western Conference finals, despite his adequate performance in the first two rounds.
Although he only played 15 minutes in Game 4, his “disappearance” could be a bit of an exaggeration, given that his 10-for-31 shooting (2-for-15 from profound) and inability to keep up with opponents on defense rendered him practically useless towards the end.
Midway through the series, there were cries to bench Russell, but according to ESPN, the Lakers were worried they would “lose” him if they did so in such a visible way. Now, it’s clear how it turned out.
