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The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets on April 2 despite starting point guard D’Angelo Russell missing the second half. The All-Star had left foot soreness.
After the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said Russell’s injury wasn’t serious.
Russell finished with six points, three rebounds and four assists in 15 minutes against the Rockets. The Lakers improved to 40-38 on the season. They are in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
Russell entered the Rockets game averaging 18.0 points and 6.5 assists with the Lakers while shooting 47.5% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc. The Ohio State product was traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Lakers at the trade deadline.
Why Did the Timberwolves Trade D’Angelo Russell?
According to a March 29 report from Kendra Andrews of ESPN, the Timberwolves wanted to move on from Russell for a few reasons. Minnesota acquired Mike Conley from the Utah Jazz to replace D’Lo.
“But then the team traded him at the deadline for Mike Conley, a move that sources told ESPN was geared toward adding maturity to the roster, as well as someone who cared less about making flashy plays,” Andrews wrote. “There was also pre-existing on-court chemistry between Conley and Gobert.”
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who traded Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2017 when he was working in Los Angeles’ front office, told Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win in February that Russell “has really grown and matured.”
“I think D’Angelo has really grown and matured,” Johnson said. “He can score the basketball. He can pass the basketball. He doesn’t turn it over a lot. That’s what I like about him, too. That pick-and-roll with Anthony Davis is going to be special. You have to pick your poison for what you try to do whether it’s Russell coming off the PnR or Anthony Davis rolling to the basket and they’ll have some more time playing with LeBron. If the Lakers can get in, and I think they will, nobody is going to want to play them. That’s for sure.”
The Lakers Want to Re-Sign D’Angelo Russell
All signals point toward Russell re-signing with the Lakers this summer, according to a February 15 report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The LakeShow will have full Bird rights for Russell, who hits unrestricted free agency after this season ends.
“Both the Lakers and D’Angelo Russell have already expressed to each other an interest in starting conversations on a contract extension,” Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown. “Russell could be a free agent this summer, but the Lakers traded for him — giving up as part of that package a first-round pick, two second-round picks — not to be a rental, but to be a solution at that point guard position. So expect D’Angelo Russell and the Lakers to really start engaging on those extension talks here in the next weeks and months into the offseason.”
Russell has career averages of 17.7 points and 5.7 assists with the Lakers, Nets, Golden State Warriors and Timberwolves. He will have made over $138 million in his career once this offseason starts.
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