$18 Million Blessing Gives D’Angelo Russell the Keys to Lakers Future, 37 Days After Trade Scare

D’Angelo Russell has been on a tear recently. The Lakers guard has elevated his game since finding his name in the midseason trade rumors. In the last 27 games, D’Lo has averaged over 22 points on 44 percent shooting from beyond the arc. More importantly, the Lakers are 17-10 in those games. Following D’Angelo’s midseason resurgence, NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski believes Russell might hold the key to the Lakers’ future.

Russell is currently in the first year of his 2-year $36 million contract with the Lakers. He has an $18 million player option for next season that could be a huge leverage point for D’Angelo. Russell has the option to opt out of the deal and test free agency this summer. That would deeply hurt the Lakers’ offseason plans because they would lose D’Angelo for free. Woj believes if the Lakers want to make a big trade during the draft, they need D’Lo to opt into the 2nd year of his contract. “The Lakers would need his contract to attach the picks to do something big.”

Even if the Lakers decide to part ways with D’Lo this summer, they would need him to opt in and agree to go wherever they wish to trade him. That gives D’Angelo extra leverage and the power to decide the Lakers’ future. His market value has increased significantly because of his recent scoring outburst. Teams around the league are noticing how D’Angelo has impacted winning. Many organizations would love to sign D’Lo on a huge offer if he decides to test free agency this off-season.

Will the Lakers decide to keep D’Angelo Russell?

There is also a possibility that the Lakers decide to keep D’Angelo for another season if he chooses to opt into his deal. Many expected Rob Pelinka to trade D’Lo at last month’s midseason trade deadline. But the Lakers realized that keeping him for the season was their best available option. And Russell has proven the Lakers right. He has been key to the Lakers’ recent success. D’Angelo has taken some scoring load off LeBron and AD’s shoulders, giving them time to deal with their lingering injuries.

If D’Lo continues his impressive form for the rest of the season and helps the Lakers make a deep run in the playoffs, his value could rise significantly. In that case, the Lakers might decide to keep him for one more season and maneuver a deal to make their roster better without trading him. However, it will all depend on how far the Lakers go this season and what D’Angelo decides for his 2nd year.

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