It sounds like Los Angeles Lakers fans should expect D'Angelo Russell to be wearing purple and gold when the 2023-24 NBA season begins.

Over the past 24 hours, two well-connected Lakers beat writers indicated — not reported — that Russell and the Lakers are likely to strike a deal in free agency.

“When league insiders speak about next year’s team, D’Angelo Russell is usually included,” wrote Los Angeles Times' Dan Woike in his latest newsletter. “He’ll hit unrestricted free agency after a disappointing conference finals, but his value to the Lakers extends beyond the team having his Bird rights, which allows them to re-sign a player while exceeding the salary cap. He had enough big moments in the postseason and in the push to the playoffs, when he wasn’t fighting injuries, for the team to re-sign him.”

Russell averaged 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, and shot 41.4% from 3 in 17 regular season games for the Lakers after the trade deadline. A few timely scoring surges helped the Lakers advance through the first two rounds of the playoffs, but his struggles in the conference finals — 6.3 points, 32.3% shooting, benched in Game 4 — probably caused his market value to drop.

Russell, 27, initially sought a four-year, $100 million deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's unlikely that he receives that type of offer considering how his season ended and the soft point guard market. However, the Lakers are seemingly open to retaining Russell on a more modest contract.

“It's sounding like they're going to keep D'Lo,” The Athletic's Jovan Buha said on a recent podcast. “…If you're the Lakers, I'd probably put like (two years, $36 million, $40 million) and just say, ‘Where's the bigger offer? And if you find it, we'll reconsider.'”

At exit interviews, Russell said he would “love” to return to Los Angeles and see what the team could accomplish with a full season together.

None of this is set and stone. Maybe a team with cap space (San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic) shows surprising interest in Russell, or maybe the Lakers end up including him in a sign-and-trade, which he would have to agree to. It's also plausible that the Lakers, assuming they re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, rethink their finances and let Russell walk to open up spending money. Of course, the Lakers could always trade D'Lo anytime before next year's deadline.