Lakers' D'Angelo Russell 'Would Love to Stay' Amid Kyrie Irving Rumors
DALLAS — It has been a postseason filled with ups and downs for Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell, but he has found a rhythm against the Golden State Warriors. He and the other notable midseason acquisitions that were mid ahead of the trade deadline have proven pivotal alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
In nine playoff games, Russell has averaged 16.7 points, 6.0 assists and 3.2 rebounds. He's shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from 3-point range. He's coming off a strong performance with 21 points and five assists in the Lakers' 127-97 Game 3 win over the Warriors.
Russell is playing in the final year of his contract, which was among the reasons the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to move on from him. He made clear that while he would have stayed with the T-Wolves had he not been traded, he would like to re-sign with the Lakers this offseason.
"I would love to stay here, but I would have loved to be in Minnesota, too," Russell said when asked about his desire to re-sign with the Lakers (via The Athletic). "So wherever my feet are, that's where I'm gonna be."
If Russell were to re-sign with the Lakers, it would essentially make the Lakers' path to acquiring a big-name star like Kyrie Irving seemingly impossible. Russell has a $38.7 million cap hold entering the offseason and that would need to be renounced for Los Angeles to create spending power.
As long as Russell continues to perform, the Lakers reportedly want to re-sign the talents they recently added over pursuing Irving. Meanwhile, if all goes according to the Dallas Mavericks' plan, the Lakers won't get the chance to even choose if they want to pursue Irving over re-signing Russell.
During a recent interview with Rachel Nichols on "Headliners," Mavs coach Jason Kidd made clear that ahead of Irving's free agency, the Mavs will "do everything to keep him" within their capabilities.
"We're gonna do everything to keep him," Kidd said. "At the end of the day, it's his decision, but we'll see what that is, but at the end, we hope that we've done everything to make him comfortable and want to be a Mav for life."
As the Lakers' run continues to play out, they appear to be best suited to keep their reconfigured roster together. Los Angeles would have to renounce cap holds to a lot of their top additions while complicating their outlook to re-sign Austin Reaves if they were to pursue Irving on a pricy contract.
As the playoffs progress, the results of different series can impact the future of the NBA as far as roster turnover is concerned. For example, as the noise surrounding Deandre Ayton's underwhelming play builds, could the Phoenix Suns grow into being a suitor to watch for Irving in a sign-and-trade scenario?
In the meantime, an important factor in the Mavs' general offseason outlook will be the results that transpire from the NBA Draft Lottery.
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