The Los Angeles Lakers re-acquired D’Angelo Russell during the 2023 trade deadline in the move that ultimately shipped out Russell Westbrook and changed the course of the team’s season. While it was not always perfect, Russell was a breath of fresh air for the team and was a far better fit than Westbrook.
Like Westbrook, though, Russell is a free agent this offseason and is free to leave the Lakers for any team in the league. D’Lo probably won’t get what his current contract is paying him with limited teams having cap space but there are still some threats to lure him away with a big contract.
Considering how Russell fell out of favor in the playoffs, these teams would be doing the Lakers a massive favor.
3 teams that could sign D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers:
1. San Antonio Spurs
If there is any team in the league that has cap space it is the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio tanked last season and is openly building for the future. The Spurs got the first overall pick in the draft so there could be something brewing for the team next season and beyond.
This is a pretty dry free-agent class and the Spurs probably aren’t going to be able to convince someone like Khris Middleton to come. However, the team could theoretically lure someone like Russell, who might just be looking for the biggest pay day.
With no big contracts in the future signing Russell does not really have much of a downside for the Spurs. Even if he does not end up amounting to any kind of title run in the future, the Spurs could give him the runway to play well and even eventually trade him for more assets down the line.
Spotrac estimates the Spurs to have roughly $46.7 million in practical cap space this offseason. The team needs to spend it on something. Might as well give Victor Wembanyama a playmaking guard to help give him a taste of the NBA Playoffs early.