4. D’Angelo Russell
Would the Lakers be willing to bring back their former point guard? Russell has found a role and thrived with the T-Wolves as he heads into the final year of his contract. Russell averaged 18.1-points last season and was a great distributor for a young Minnesota team.
The argument for bringing Russell back to Los Angeles next offseason is the fact he is a far better defender than the Lakers have had at point guard since Lonzo Ball was traded. However, he isn’t close to the scorer that Kyrie Irving is who should remain the Lakers’ primary target at the position.
Russell is more than capable of carrying the offense for short stretches and would allow Los Angles to run a defensive bench with Russell as the primary scorer when Davis and LeBron need to rest.
No matter whether it is one of these four targets or another surprise trade the Lakers must find a way to add a star next offseason. James and Davis both have proven they can’t stay healthy and carry a team without help around them.
As elite as they both are they aren’t players who can carry a team for a full season at this point in their careers.