Shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers made moves to free up enough cap space to sign a max player in free agency next week, NBA analyst Colin Cowherd went on air to discuss the possible free agents that the Lakers could bring in. He mentioned five players, but the one that he feels will fit the Purple and Gold nicely is former Laker D'Angelo Russell.
"D'Angelo Russell feels like the fit here."@ColinCowherd reacts to breaking news that Anthony Davis has waived his trade kicker, Lakers now have room to sign another max player pic.twitter.com/C1hJ03hDQI
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 27, 2019
Over the past couple of days, the Lakers have been rumored to have a ‘real interest' in D'Angelo Russell, whom they traded to the Brooklyn Nets two years ago. The All-Star guard averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 assists, and 3.9 rebounds last season, leading his team to the playoffs. He's not expected to get the same numbers in LA, especially since LeBron James and Anthony Davis are there, but he will definitely become the team's designated shooter, especially since he had a 36 percent clip beyond the arc.
However, Cowherd said that it will be wise for the Lakers to convince D'Lo to take less money in order for the team to get another starter or above-average reserve. The veteran sportscaster does not believe that Russell is worth $32 million as a third option.




Magic Johnson, the person responsible for trading D'Angelo Russell in 2017, is gone. According to reports, he was the only one that didn't want the rising star in L.A. because of his off-court issues, but now that the Hall of Famer has stepped down as the team's president of basketball operations, the Lakers will now have no problems bringing D'Angelo back.
Still, things will once again have to go the Lakers' way if they want to bring back D'Angelo Russell. If the Nets extend a qualifying offer, he will be a restricted free agent, and LA will be forced to match whatever salary Brooklyn offers D'Lo.
If the Nets get Kyrie Irving in free agency, they will most likely let D'Angelo Russell walk away, and that's when the Lakers can pluck him away from other teams.