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The Los Angeles Lakers drafted D'Angelo Russell with the second overall pick back in 2015. Two years later, they took another point guard by the name of Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 overall selection and showed Russell the door.
Now, two years after that, the Lakers are interested in a reunion.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Los Angeles has “serious interest” in bringing back Russell. Charania notes that the organization's familiarity with Russell is a reason why the Lakers are intrigued by the prospect of signing him.
Russell is a restricted free agent of the Brooklyn Nets, so the Nets can match any offer he receivers, but given Brooklyn's seemingly inevitable signing of Kyrie Irving, the Nets will likely allow Russell to walk.
The 23-year-old is coming off of a 2018-19 campaign in which he played 81 games and averaged 21.1 points, seven assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals over 30.2 minutes per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 36.9 percent from three-point range and 78 percent from the free-throw line en route to an All-Star appearance.
If Russell does end up in Los Angeles, he would no longer even have to worry about Ball, as the Lakers traded Ball to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis deal earlier this month.
Russell, who played his collegiate basketball at Ohio State, averaged 13.2 and 15.6 points per game, respectively, in each of his first two seasons in Los Angeles. He then had an injury-riddled first year in Brooklyn, posting just 15.5 points per game.
The question about Russell is whether or not his productivity this season was merely a result of an increased role, as his less-than-stellar true shooting percentage of 53.3 percent indicates that volume may have played a significant factor in his breakout year.
