Lakers News: Principle Details Regarding D’Angelo Russell’s New Contract Surface
By all accounts, your Los Angeles Lakers had a very successful free agency period.
They re-signed key playoff contributors Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, and brought solid depth into the organization with Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes.
But one signing was a little unexpected for Los Angeles, both that they brought him back, and mainly at the price tag they were able to get him at.
That of course, is D'Angelo Russell.
Serving as the Lakers' starting point guard after last season's trade deadline, he had his moments in his second go-round in purple and gold, but a disappointing series against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals made his future in LA a question mark, especially given the high asking price Russell was supposedly wanting this summer.
Russell did find his way back to the Lakers though, agreeing to a deal with the franchise early in free agency.
Keith Smith of Spotrac just revealed all the details regarding Russell's new contract, and the deal is as team-friendly as was speculated.
For a player that was reportedly wanting around $25 million per year on the open market, getting the 27 year old back for just $18 million per season -- if Russell opts to exercise his player option for the second year -- is certainly a boon for the Lakers and in all likelihood helped them round out what was an impressive week for the team.
The deal is also fair for the guard with the incentives and also the ability for him to hit free agency again next summer as a 28-year-old.
Ultimately though, both sides should be relatively happy with the contract even though it's below Russell's reported asking price, and the Lakers are set up nicely to make another playoff run next season with key members of last year's roster returning.
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