NBA rumors point to Los Angeles Lakers shopping D’Angelo Russell: 3 ideal landing spots

The Los Angeles Lakers have been the least-active team in the NBA when it comes to both free agency and the trade market.

It’s pretty darn surprising after having to make it out of the NBA Play-In Tournament, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs this past year.

LeBron James is returning. JJ Redick is the Lakers’ new head coach. James’ son, Bronny, was selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

These are the three pieces of news that have defined the Lakers’ offseason thus far. It does not take a genius to realize that general manager Rob Pelinka needs to pull off a significant move if this team is going to be seen as a legitimate NBA title contender. As currently constructed, that’s far from the case.

Los Angeles does have assets in that of draft picks and expiring contracts to offer up to other teams. It now looks like the team is attempting to do just that.

The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reports that the Lakers have been shopping point guard D’Angelo Russell around the league in trade talks. Russell picked up the $18.7 million play option on his deal for next season. At that point, it did seem to suggest that he’ll be moved. But this is the first concrete report suggesting so.

Related: Los Angeles Lakers maintaining interest in trade for key role player, NBA Champion

Ideal landing spots for Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell

Russell’s expiring contract could prove to be valuable. But there is a complexity here. Los Angeles would have to find a replacement at point guard. Whether it comes via a Russell trade or another avenue, that has to be taken into account.

With that as a backdrop, here is a look at three ideal D’Angelo Russell trade scenarios.

• Brooklyn Nets: The Lakers are quickly running out of options to improve their team. Would they go to desperate measures by attempting to help Ben Simmons turn things around? We’ve seen stranger things happen. This scenario would include Russell joining Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent in heading to Brooklyn. With Simmons’ $40 million deal expiring, it would also create salary cap flexibility next summer. For their trouble, the Nets pick up some second-round picks to make this work.

• Utah Jazz: This would pretty much be a one-for-one swap with the Lakers potentially sending some draft capital to Utah. In this scenario, the Jazz land Russell in exchange for Collin Sexton. He’s said to be on the trade block, and would be a much better fit with the Lakers than Russell.

• San Antonio Spurs: Tre Jones actually seems to be an ideal fit for the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s a natural point guard with great distribution skills. That’s not Russell’s strong point. Here, Los Angeles acquires Jones and big man Zach Collins for Russell and Gabe Vincent. The team then throws in some draft capital to make this worth it for San Antonio.

Read more: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news and rumors