Two teams reportedly willing to help Lakers facilitate trade deals

The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason has been relatively quiet, despite an early playoff exit. Los Angeles replaced former head coach Darvin Ham with JJ Redick, who spent the past few seasons as an NBA podcaster and broadcaster for ESPN.

Despite his lack of experience, Redick has seen his name skyrocket up the ladder in NBA circles in recent years. Los Angeles offers him a solid opportunity to coach some of the better players in the league, but it also comes with the pressure of coaching the Lakers.

The front office has tried to help Redick by adding players to the roster, but nothing has come of it so far. Los Angeles is looking to trade guard D’Angelo Russell, but his value in the NBA is quite low.

Teams know the Lakers are desperate now and have tried to exploit them in trade talks. Many won’t even deal with the Lakers unless Los Angeles gives in to their unfair trade requests.

However, Los Angeles appears to have had positive conversations with a few teams regarding Russell. According to insider Anthony Irwin of Lakers Daily, both the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors are open to helping the Lakers facilitate a trade.

“Portland has no interest in Russell, according to sources close to the situation. League sources also say Washington is reluctant to pair Russell with fellow space cadet Jordan Poole. Toronto and Brooklyn are more open to acquiring the nine-year veteran, but more because of his expiring contract than because of what he would do on the field.”

Trading Russell would give the Lakers an upgrade across the board, but it would leave a hole at point guard. While Russell has his flaws, he’s still a quality guard who has found a nice place in the Lakers’ offense.

His biggest problems came in the postseason, against the Denver Nuggets in back-to-back seasons. Russell is entering the final year of his contract, so the Lakers will likely have to trade him, either before the start of the year or at the trade deadline.

If they don’t, they risk losing a valuable asset for nothing. There’s still time between now and the start of the season, so the front office still has some work to do in terms of roster construction.

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