Proposed Lakers Trade Replaces D’Angelo Russell With Former 6th Man Of The Year

The Los Angeles Lakers made some changes in the offseason and they are expected to make even more. The front office could rebuild the roster in the near future. Lakers Rob Pelinka gave D’Angelo Russell a contract extension, but he could end up on the trade block.

“The Lakers have confidence in Russell now, but who’s to say things won’t go south like they did late last season,” wrote Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report on October 19. “He just isn’t the most natural fit with LeBron James, as Russell does his best work with the ball in his hands and his worst work on the defensive end.”

Buckley has a suggestion for the Lakers. They could get Malcolm Brogdon from the Portland Trail Blazers and send Russell and Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Blazers.

“As long as Brogdon stays healthy—he played 75 games as a rookie and hasn’t reached the 70-game mark since—he could thrive in Hollywood,” Buckley said. “He can operate on or off the ball while capably defending either backcourt position.”

Lakers may trade Russell for an effective player

Brogdon makes sense for the Lakers. He averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists last season while going 44.4% from beyond the arc. He came off the bench in all 67 games last season.

Russell needs to elevate his defense and he has already made some changes in the offseason. He tried to replicate some of the moves Derrick White had on the floor. White also earned All-Defensive Second Team honors in the 2022-23 season.

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“My inspiration has been Derrick White,” Russell said, via Lakers Fam on October 15. “I want to be Derrick White. He doesn’t get a lot of credit for what does. [He] makes all the winning plays, and that’s that’s what I want to be.”

The Lakers decided to trust Russell despite some of the concerns related to his performance in the postseason.

“A lot was made about how things finished against Denver and whatnot. But at the end of the day, we don’t get to where we got to without D’Angelo Russell,” Ham said via the team on September 28. “And I’m going to encourage him to be assertive. He’s a highly, highly intelligent basketball player. One that is coming back with sort of a chip on his shoulder.”