Lakers’ Top Offseason Priority? Bringing Back D’Angelo Russell

Forget trading away depth and diversity for a third superstar like Trae Young. The Lakers’ top priority this offseason should be to bring back D’Angelo Russell, the missing piece to their championship puzzle.

If there’s anything Rob Pelinka and the Los Angeles Lakers should have learned over the last 25 games since Darvin Ham put D’Angelo Russell back in the starting lineup, it’s that they may already have that needed third star.
Since returning to the starting lineup, Russell has delivered everything the Lakers could have hoped to get from a third star, including elite leadership, difference-making scoring, playmaking, and volume 3-point shooting.

Last night’s elite performance by D’Angelo Russell without LeBron James enabled the Lakers to stun the heavily favored Milwaukee Bucks and also confirmed that DLO is the third star the team should pursue this summer.
Russell elevating his game to star level forced the Lakers not only not to trade him at the deadline but could now end up forcing them to completely change direction this summer and make re-signing him their priority.

Let’s take a closer look at D’Angelo Russell’s third star game, whether it’s even sustainable, what it’s done for the Lakers’ championship potential, and what it means for their roster decisions and moves this summer.

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What’s Behind D’Angelo Russell’s Break Out?

Watching from the bench, D’Angelo Russell decided the best way to complement superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis was to take advantage of them by being aggressive rather than deferring to them.

When Ham returned him to the starting lineup, Russell dramatically upped his minutes played, field goals attempted, points per game scored, and 3-point field goals made to the levels representative of the team’s third star.
Over the last 25 games, DLO raised his minutes per game from 29.1 to 36.1 (+24%), field goal attempts from 12.4 to 16.6 (+34%), points per game from 15.4 to 22.2 (+44%), and 3-pointers made per game from 2.2 to 3.9 (+77%).

D’Angelo Russell’s increase in minutes played, field goal attempts, points per game, and 3-pointers made per game have definitely elevated his usage and role to that of the team’s third star and clearly appear to be sustainable.
Russell’s transformation as the Lakers’ third star now has him playing the 2nd most minutes on the team, taking the 3rd most field goal attempts, scoring the 3rd most points, and leading the team in made 3–point shots.

What’s behind Russell’s break out? Since returning to starting lineup? DLO increased his minutes played, field goal attempts taken, points scored per game, and 3-point shots made per game to the elite level of a third star.

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How Has DLO’s Evolution Changed Lakers?

Since reinstated as the Lakers’ starting point guard 25 games ago, D’Angelo Russell has definitely shown that he is fully capable of filling the role as the Lakers third offensive star and their designated volume 3-point specialist.

In the 25 games since he took over as the team’s third star, Russell has averaged 22.2 ppg and 16.6 FGA in 36.1 mpg, comparable to James’ 26.3 ppg on 18.9 FGA in 36.4 mpg and Davis’ 24.2 ppg on 16.7 FGA in 35.2 mpg.
Most importantly, D’Angelo Russell has shown he can continue to sustain third star level performance despite dramatically increased minutes, field goal attempts, points per game scored, and 3-point field goals made.

DLO’s emergence as the Lakers third star has significantly raised the Lakers’ floor and ceiling as a team. When all three play, the Lakers winning formula no longer demands they dominate the paint and free throw line.
Russell’s enhanced 3-point shooting has slashed in half what used to be a negative 10 points per game disadvantage for the Lakers in the 3-point shooting battle. That’s made it far easier for the Lakers to win games.

DLO’s reinventing himself as the Lakers’ third star and elite volume 3-point specialist has transformed the Lakers from a team that couldn’t shoot to one that now has the ability to rain threes as well as dominate in the paint.

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The Summer of LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell?

If he can successfully finish the season in his new role as team’s third star and sustain that level of play throughout the playoffs, D’Angelo Russell could force the Lakers to re-sign him as their third superstar gong forward.

Frankly, there’s a good argument the Lakers should abandon their plans to pursue a third superstar like Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell this summer when they will have three first round picks and four pick swaps to trade.
Rather than using their valuable draft capital for a third superstar, the Lakers would be smart to instead re-sign D’Angelo Russell to be their third star and use their draft capital and matching salaries to upgrade the roster.

The last thing the Lakers want to do after finally building a deep and diverse roster to complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis is to throw away all of the progres of the last few year to chase after a third superstar.
Trading for Trae Young or Donovan Mitchell would likely cost the Lakers four rotation players like Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Gabe Vincent as well as most of their tradable draft picks and swaps.

The Lakers would be smart to abandon the idea of trading away the farm to add a max salary superstar and instead focus on re-signing LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell and using their trade capital to build around them.