The Los Angeles Lakers are officially down 3-0 against the Denver Nuggets in this year’s playoffs. The Nuggets have made it obvious that they have the Lakers number over the last few years as they coasted to their 11th straight victory over them.
D’Angelo Russell was an obvious disappointment in Game 3 of the series. The guard didn’t score a single point in his 24 minutes of play for the team. Now, as free agency looms, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes that Russell will opt out of his deal to enter the market.
“It’s likely that D’Angelo Russell is gonna opt out of his contract, OK. Because the Lakers gave him a one-year with a player option and I would say it’s likely he’s gonna opt out of that and once he’s a free agent, they can’t really trade him.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on the Hoops Collective Podcast
Last offseason, Russell signed a two-year, $36 million contract to remain in Los Angeles. Now, it looks as though his time with the Lakers is coming to an end. Russell was talked about all over social media for not even joining the Lakers huddle after his disastrous performance.
The writing is on the wall for both Russell and the Lakers as a whole. Barring something shocking, the series seems to be all but over.
“So it’s likely that they’re not gonna be able to execute a sign-and-trade even if there was a team out there that wants D’Angelo Russell and wants to trade the Lakers a star, which is a totally different conversation.”
Brian Windhorst
The Lakers will enter this offseason with an overwhelming amount of question marks on their roster. However, they will have to focus on trying to fight back in this series before thinking about free agency.
