The general manager’s plan to let go of their young talent will be tested as the Lakers attempt to establish the point guard position.
The Lakers’ top priority appears to be finding a point guard, aside from keeping LeBron James from making an official retirement announcement, which would rock both the Lakers and the NBA as a whole.
D’Angelo Russell returned to Los Angeles for his second stint with the purple and gold after the Lakers traded one Russell (Westbrook) for another.
Russell was at his worst towards the end of the season, even though he started all but one of the 34 games he played for LA as the former No. 2 overall pick.
Russell scored an average of just 6.3 points on 32% shooting against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals. Russell turned the ball over three times in the first twenty minutes of play as the Lakers headed home in an attempt to avoid falling behind 3-0, a result that no team—not even the Boston Celtics—has ever overcome.
Indeed, the Lakers were undoubtedly a little bitter after Russell’s final-quarter performance.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has stated that he wants to keep the talented players that LA has amassed, especially now that Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are about to enter restricted free agency.
Before exit interviews on Tuesday, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka stated, “I would say this resoundingly clear: Our intentions are to keep our core of young guys together.”
