D’Angelo Russell hasn’t necessarily helped his stock through three playoff games against the Denver Nuggets. The same thing could be said in last year’s Western Conference Finals when his Los Angeles Lakers again met up with Denver which resulted in the Lakers getting swept.
The Lakers decided to bring the 28-year-old point guard back into the fold despite his woes to end last year’s postseason. Russell and the team agreed on a two-year deal last offseason worth $36 million. The second year is a player option.
If he declines, Russell will become an unrestricted free agent.
Lakers Struggling Guard Expected to Decline Player Option
Russell’s Player Option is for More Than $18.5 Million
On Thursday night, the Lakers fell to the Nuggets by the score of 112-105. They now are in a huge 3-0 hole in the opening round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Los Angeles has now lost seven postseason games in a row to Denver as well as four straight in the regular season.
Game 3 was an ugly performance for Russell. The 6-3 point guard finished the game without a single point in 24 minutes. He shot 0-7 from the field with six of those shot attempts coming from behind the arc.
Jay Williams goes off on D’Angelo Russell and says he quit on the Lakers 😳
“I don’t want him on my roster.”
(🎥 @GetUpESPN )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 26, 2024
If the Lakers lose Game 4 on Saturday, it could be Russell’s last game with the Lakers. Brian Windhorst of ESPN says that it is ‘likely’ that he will decline his player option in order to enter free agency. His player option is for $18,692,307.
Postseason Struggles Particularly Against the Nuggets
While Russell had a solid performance in Game Two, that game is sandwiched between two poor ones. Altogether in the three playoff games, he is shooting just 14-43 from the field and 8-26 from three-point range. Take away Game Two, and those shooting numbers turn to 6-27 and 1-15 respectively.
That is eerily reminiscent of his efforts against Denver in last year’s Western Conference Finals. In the four-game sweep, Russell averaged only 6.3 points. He shot an atrocious 32.3% from the field (10-31) and 13.3% on threes (2-13). The Lakers took him out of the starting lineup for the fourth game of the series.
Wholesale Changes Coming for Lakers Including Russell?
One has to wonder if a plethora of moves will be made in the offseason by the Lakers if they are swept out of the playoffs for two straight years. Head coach Darvin Ham isn’t necessarily beloved by many in the fan base, and he could be on the chopping block.
LeBron James also has a player option for next season. Turning 40 in December, would he want to stay on a Lakers team that clearly has a lot of work to do to reach the level of the Nuggets?
While Russell didn’t have a bad regular season (he shot career-high 41.5% from three-point range), the Lakers might not mind him opting out with the way his last two postseasons have gone. This is Russell’s second tenure with the Lakers after they took him with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
