Lost in the noise of the Chris Paul news, it is becoming clear that the Lakers are looking to sign and trade D'Angelo Russell this offseason.
What does this mean for the rest of the league? Will the Lakers be able to sign and trade D'Angelo Russell this offseason? What happens if the Lakers are unable to find a suitor?
As reported by Jake Fisher of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers are exploring sign-and-trade options with D'Angelo Russell this offseason. It has been reported by multiple outlets that the Lakers could be forced to keep Russell if they are unable to trade him.
NBA Rumors: Will the Lakers be able to trade D'Angelo Russell?
Fisher mentions that the Suns could possibly be interested in a sign-and-trade deal which would be tricky to make work due to league rules. Harrison Faigen of SB Nation correctly points out that this would require heavy trust by both teams and would force the Suns to hold on to Chris Paul after his guarantee date.
Russell does not really fit on a playoff roster that requires him to be playing starter-level minutes. His defense is a huge detractor and it is really hard to justify him getting significant minutes when his shots aren't falling. In the series against Denver, his shot were clearly off and he started to lose minutes in the series because of it.
For a team that is lacking offensive talent and looking to change that, signing Russell would make a lot of sense. Of course, any team that would give Los Angeles assets in return for Russell will risk being over the cap. Due to that reason, it seems likely that the Lakers will hold on to Russell until the trade deadline, where they can shop him to any team that can outright match salary.
