Lakers trade rumors: Massive update on D'Angelo Russell roster status

The Los Angeles Lakers have a decision to make about the future of All-Star point guard D'Angelo Russell. Russell is one of the most productive players in the NBA, but he's also developed a reputation as one of the most erratic postseason performers on the roster.

A recent rumor confirms that the Lakers have already made a decision about their preferred path forward as it pertains to Russell's future with the team.

Russell, 28, recently accepted his player option for the 2024-25 season. He's now on the books for $18,692,307, which has been perceived as anywhere between a bargain for his production and an overpay for his postseason value.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers have been shopping Russell on the trade market since he accepted his player option.

"If you are the Lakers, and you are potentially doing a D-Lo trade at some point, as they have been shopping him and trying to move him since he opted in, it would be nice to have a player of Spencer Dinwiddie's caliber on your roster."

The last point was said in response to the Lakers' inactivity this offseason, including the loss of Spencer Dinwiddie to the Dallas Mavericks, but the bigger news pertains to Russell.

Lakers actively attempting to trade D'Angelo Russell

Russell was selected by the Lakers at No. 2 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft—two spots ahead of Kristaps Porzingis and 11 picks higher than Devin Booker. He's now in his second stint with Los Angeles, and has been the proverbial Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during that time.

A star-caliber player in the regular season and an unreliable contributor in the playoffs, the inconsistency has hindered the Lakers as much as it's uplifted them.

In the 93 regular season games that he's played since being reacquired by the Lakers, Russell has averaged 17.9 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.9 three-point field goals made on .460/.415/.809 shooting. That combination of well-rounded offensive production and elite three-point shooting is tough to come by.

In the playoffs, however, those numbers dip to 13.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 three-point field goals made on .414/.313/.750 shooting across a sample size of 21 games.

There have been flashes of brilliance, including Russell's clutch performance during the 2024 Play-In Tournament and the 31 points he scored to close out the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. A team building around two stars in their 30s simply can't afford inconsistency.

As such, the Lakers are shopping Russell in a trade that's likely to be made with the goal of finding a replacement at his position—if a deal can be executed at all.

Russell and Gabe Vincent are the only two point guards on the roster at the moment. LeBron James makes the nature of the position difficult to define, and Austin Reaves is a fine playmaker at the 2, but it'd be difficult to justify the Lakers going into 2024-25 without a replacement for Russell in place.

The task ahead of general manager Rob Pelinka will be outfitting the Lakers with a player who can provide similar regular season value while doing his best to guarantee a postseason improvement.

It's yet another unenviable position for Pelinka to find himself in.