The NBA has seen one crazy event after another over the past several years. Kevin Durant signing with a 73-win team.
LeBron James bolting Cleveland for a second time, only to head to Los Angeles.
The Toronto Raptors taking out an injury-depleted Warriors squad. And most recently, the Lakers pulling off a mega-trade for Anthony Davis.
Things apparently aren’t going to change on this front any time soon.
In talking about options for the Lakers during free agency, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst floated an interesting name from the team’s past.
D’Angelo Russell.
The NBA insider firmly believes that Russell could be a target of the Lakers two years after they jettisoned him out of town quicker than a conservative actor in Hollywood.
Russell’s previous issues with former Lakers guard Nick Young are by now well known. But as Windhorst notes, no one on the Lakers roster from back remain on the team.
How would it work with the Lakers’ limited resources? Los Angeles pretty much dealt away the possibility of trading first-round picks over the next five years after acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Los Angeles has the capability of dealing away multiple second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets in a sign-and-trade for the newly minted All-Star guard. Brooklyn remains the odds-on favorites to land LeBron’s former running partner, Kyrie Irving, in free agency. In turn, the Nets could add a third team to take on some of their excess cap pieces while adding the Lakers’ picks.
While former Lakers president Magic Johnson wanted Russell out of town, the team’s new front office might think differently.
On the court, Russell would actually be a fit for the Lakers. He’s coming off a stellar 2018-19 campaign that saw the 23-year-old former lottery pick average 21.1 points and 7.0 assists while shooting 37 percent from distance.
Is this likely to happen? No. But stranger things have indeed happened.