D’Angelo Russell Will Have a ‘More Nuanced’ Free-Agent Market

The Los Angeles Lakers may be on the search for a new point-guard with D’Angelo Russell expected to opt out of his player option for the 2024-25 season and enter free-agency for the second successive season.

With that in mind, NBA insider Mark Medina believes there will be a market for the 2019 All-Star, though he does suspect it will be ‘more nuanced’ due to his inconsistent play throughout the 2023-24 campaign.

Uncertainty over LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell’s future

Once again, Lakers franchise superstar LeBron James has dominated the headlines around the NBA with him being coy over his future.

The 39-year-old has a player option on his current deal which he is expected to opt out of, and while it is widely expected that he will negotiate a new deal with the Lakers, nothing is entirely ruled off the table, with many teams around the league ready and waiting to jump at the chance to acquire the 20-time All-Star should the opportunity present itself.

One of those teams is the Philadelphia 76ers, who are reportedly considering offering James a max contract in an attempt to swoop him away from Los Angeles, the only other team who have the cap space to offer the four-time NBA champion such a lucrative deal.

The Phoenix Suns are another team thought to be in with a chance of luring James, especially with the reports that Bronny James has named the Suns, along with the Lakers, as two of the teams he has chosen to work out for amid the upcoming NBA Draft.

But while James’ future remains somewhat unclear, guard Austin Reaves’ seems more set in stone, with reports suggesting that the guard is an untouchable asset for L.A.

For Reaves’ backcourt partner for much of the season, D’Angelo Russell, though, it looks all but certain that he has played his last game in the uniform of the Purple and Gold, with all signs pointing toward the All-Star point-guard declining his player option in search of a new home, despite arguably his best season with the organization, at least during the regular season.

Albeit only speculation, this form of action seems the most likely outcome, and has been fueled by reports of other All-Star point-guards being linked with the Lakers, including Chris Paul, Trae Young – though there are thought to be some fit concerns around James and Anthony Davis on that front – and Zach LaVine, which also now seems unlikely due to his tethered injury history, especially over the past few seasons.

Medina argues that Russell’s best fit would be on a team that doesn’t require him to be the leading shooter or playmaker – perhaps a team that doesn’t have the pressure of being a championship-winning-caliber organization season in season out.

But, while the journalist does argue the 28-year-old will certainly have a market, he does feel it will be more nuanced due to his inconsistencies over the course of the entire 2023-24 campaign.

Over his career, Russell has earned the reputation for being an inconsistent performer, especially if placed in high-pressure situations such as the playoffs, and despite one of his best regular season outings, he did little to assuage that reputation when it came to the 2023-24 post-season, once again being a non-factor for large parts of the Lakers’ playoff campaign.

Having averaged 18.0 points on 45.6 percent shooting from the field and an efficient 41.5 percent from the three-point line, along with 6.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds during the Lakers’ regular season campaign, his production suffered a significant drop-off in Los Angeles’ playoff campaign which ended at the first hurdle.

There, he would average only 14.2 points per contest, shooting a reduced 38.4 percent from the field, and a lowly 31.8 percent from outside the perimeter – a 9.7 percent drop-off from his regular season output – while he dished out only 4.2 assists, and grabbed 2.8 rebounds.

Russell’s passing was particularly concerning because, despite the fact that he made only 0.5 fewer passes per outing in the playoffs than he did in his 75 regular season games, his passes turned into much fewer points for the Lakers, dropping from 15.9 points to 10.6 points created, a reduction of 5.3 points per contest.

Furthermore, the 28-year-old’s assist-to-pass percentage also dropped by 4.5 percent from the regular season to the post-season, going from having the Lakers’ second-highest assist-to-pass percentage behind James (16.4 percent), to falling to fourth in the rankings behind James (15.7 percent), Spencer Dinwiddie (9.8 percent) – who averaged only 14.6 minutes in the first-round of the playoffs – and Reaves (8.9 percent).

As such, perhaps Medina is right that Russell is best-suited to a team that isn’t a firm championship or playoff contender, where he can provide scoring and playmaking throughout the regular season without facing the prospect of a post-season dip in form.

Though, as the competitor that he is, Russell will still likely have a championship ring set in his sights, and will not settle for being a complementary player on a non-competitive team.

With the freedom of being able to partially control his future via potentially entering free agency, whether his desired market is there remains unclear.

But, Russell has got some All-Star-caliber qualities that may see some contending teams demonstrate some interest in him, while returning to the Lakers is also not an option that has been entirely ruled out.