The Los Angeles Lakers saw themselves take part in a tremendous season turnaround at around the mid-way mark that included an 18-8 run over their last 26 games and wound up going all the way to the Western Conference Finals. While there were many factors that played into the club's miraculous shift in success, one of the most noteworthy alterations to their rotation was LA's acquisition of veteran guard, D'Angelo Russell, who served as their starting floor general during their final stretch run.
During his second stint with the Lakers in 2022-23, the 27-year-old found himself posting impressive per-game averages of 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 48.4% from the floor and 41.4% from deep.
Unfortunately, his productivity in orange and gold dipped during the postseason, as he saw his averages diminish to a mere 13.3 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from the field and 31.0% from deep.
With this, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer seems to believe that his lowly efficiency under the bright lights of the playoffs could wind up negatively impacting his upcoming contract negotiations, where the veteran is rumored to be seeking “upward of $100 million.”
“Then there’s the matter of Russell, who was seeking a new deal worth upward of $100 million over four years when he was with the Timberwolves, sources said. After an inconsistent postseason, it’s hard to imagine many bidders for Russell at that price point,” Fischer wrote of D'Angelo Russell.
Despite his underwhelming play and ultimate benching, Fischer would go on to note that this “could certainly benefit” the Lakers should they opt to re-sign him during the offseason, as it would mean less competition looking to snag his services.
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