{"id":83623,"date":"2024-06-29T02:30:40","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T06:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=83623"},"modified":"2024-06-29T02:30:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-29T06:30:40","slug":"lakers-news-dangelo-russells-decision-is-official","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/06\/29\/lakers-news-dangelo-russells-decision-is-official\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers News: D&#8217;Angelo Russell&#8217;s Decision is Official"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next domino in the Lakers\u2019 offseason has fallen. After months of speculation, point guard <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/russeda01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D\u2019Angelo Russell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has formally made a decision on his $18.7 million Player Option next season.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lakers guard D\u2019Angelo Russell told <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JordanRichardSC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JordanRichardSC<\/a> that he plans to exercise his $18.7 million player option and return for next season <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/twqBxQh1V6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/twqBxQh1V6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wojespn\/status\/1806922560535175405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lakers News: D&#8217;Angelo Russell&#8217;s Decision is Official<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Lakers Retain Key Piece<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Russell is coming off of a polarizing campaign that saw him average 18 points and six assists on .456\/.415\/.828 splits in 76 regular season games. He once again proved his worth as a dependable scorer and playmaker next to <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. DLo also had several scoring explosions, logging five games with 30 points or more and 29 games scoring 20-plus. His clutch moments also helped save the Lakers at several points throughout the year, including timely threes against the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LakersLegacyPod\/status\/1751528770824282218\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Warriors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/qUEGnvS6PQI?si=02KTuXSbUAyQptOJ&amp;t=193\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bucks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Russell\u2019s postseason struggles are a knock on his tenure with LA, Rob Pelinka and co. retaining him was a key move with a relatively thin free agent market, particularly at point guard. Had the Lakers lost Russell, there wouldn&#8217;t have been many better alternatives, and they would\u2019ve likely had to settle for whoever they could afford. Thankfully, that\u2019s no longer the case, and the two sides will continue this partnership once more. Under head coach JJ Redick, there\u2019s no doubt Russell can improve further with a more consistent role and with a leader who \u00a0can hold him accountable when needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">D\u2019Angelo Russell to ESPN on his decision to opt in for the final year of his contract with the Lakers for $18.7 million: \u201cI love what JJ is about and I really see myself thriving under his guidance to help win at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mcten\/status\/1806933990093517218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>Not the Only Player Option Exercised<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lakers received even more good news late Friday night, as rotational center <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hayesja02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jaxson Hayes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also exercised his Player Option, worth $2.6 million. Hayes averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds on 72% shooting from the field and 62% from the stripe. His return adds to LA\u2019s center depth and gives them another lob threat off the bench. Another bonus? Hayes will reunite with a former teammate in Redick. The duo previously played together on the Pelicans from 2019 to 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Lakers center Jaxson Hayes is exercising his $2.4 million player option to return for the 2024-25 season, sources tell <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TheAthletic<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Stadium?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Stadium<\/a>. Hayes reunites with new coach JJ Redick. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FCmbZAWwoK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/FCmbZAWwoK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1806930626534138355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Next Steps<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the decisions of Russell and Hayes, the next\u2014and arguably most important\u2014step for the Lakers is waiting on LeBron to decide on his player option. Previous reports indicated that <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/lebron-james-expected-to-opt-out-of-lakers-contract-become-unrestricted-free-agent-per-report\/#:~:text=LeBron%20James%20is%20expected%20to,the%20Lakers%20in%20the%20end.\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">James would opt out<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but remain open to returning to the Lakers, who would be able to offer him, at most, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/espn-lakers-offer-lebron-james-075452665.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a three-year, $160 million deal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Now that the team has LeBron&#8217;s son, Bronny, as a second-round pick, it could increase his chances of extending his time in the purple and gold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For now, the Lakers have a little less work to do by retaining Russell and Hayes, filling slots at two key positions with players who give the team much-needed continuity with the potential to improve under Redick\u2019s leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The next domino in the Lakers\u2019 offseason has fallen. After months of speculation, point guard D\u2019Angelo Russell has formally made a decision on his $18.7 million Player Option next season. Lakers guard D\u2019Angelo Russell told @JordanRichardSC that he plans to exercise his $18.7 million player option and return for next season https:\/\/t.co\/twqBxQh1V6 &mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":62707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62,3],"tags":[240,307,1962,2279,38,297],"class_list":["post-83623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","category-news","tag-anthony-davis","tag-dangelo-russell","tag-jaxson-hayes","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-nba-free-agency"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}