Getty Amin Elhassan, Cassidy Hubbarth, Kendrick Perkins and Paul Pierce pose for a photo before the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their slide after winning the first-ever In-Season Tournament championship, starting point guard D’Angelo Russell caught the ire of ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins.
“Right now, I would trade D’Angelo Russell for a box of Christmas-scented candles and a lifelong supply of Christmas lights,” Perkins said during a recent episode of “NBA Today.” “That’s how horrible he’s been…We’re talking about D-LO, a guy who could go out every night and get you a dub.”
“The Lakers need scoring. They need to take the pressure off LeBron [James]. They need pressure taken off Anthony Davis…You gotta look at D’Angelo Russell because he’s been too inconsistent.”
“It’s about D’Angelo Russell. Right now, I would trade him for a box of Christmas candles and a lifelong supply of Christmas lights. That’s how horrible he’s been.”
Kendrick Perkins sounded OFF on the Lakers guard’s inconsistent play lately 👀
Perkin’s rant came on the heels of Russell’s season-low two-point (and two assists) performance in a Lakers loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Russell went 1 of 6 against the Bulls, who were without Zach LaVine, the hottest name linked to the Lakers as their potential trade target. If the Lakers go after LaVine, Russell will be part of it, per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Russell bounced back with 17 points but needed 19 shots in another Lakers loss, this time to the league’s no.1 defensive team, Minnesota Timberwolves, on December 21. He had four single-digit scoring games in December.
Russell is tied with Austin Reaves as the team’s third-leading scorer with 15.3 points per game. But his inconsistency and defensive deficiency is what irked Perkins.
Lakers Need 3rd Team in Potential Zach LaVine Trade
With Coby White’s emergence for the Bulls and Russell’s inconsistent performance, the Lakers would need a third team to reroute their starting point guard in any potential package for LaVine, according to Buha.
“I think that’s where this is likely headed if it happens: a three- or even four-team deal,” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha wrote in a discussion with his colleague, Bulls beat reporter Darnell Mayberry.
Russell headlines the Lakers’ potential package for LaVine, along with a combination of salary fillers, and a protected pick, according to Buha.
Finding the third team to absorb Russell or to flip both Russell and the Lakers’ future pick for a win-now talent for the Bulls makes the trade more complicated to accomplish.
Nearly all teams that are likely to contend for play-in/playoff spots have solid point guards except for the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets.
Kings, 76ers Loom as Lakers’ Biggest Threats
Two playoff teams loom as the Lakers’ biggest threats in their potential run at LaVine as the February 8 trade deadline approaches.
“The Sixers are continuing to look at the marketplace,” said Shams Charania on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back” on December 21. “Look at their asset pool: three first-round draft picks they can trade. They have a bunch of contracts … So Zach LaVine, OG Anunoby, those are two names to keep an eye on as guys that Philadelphia has monitored, has a level of interest in.”
Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported that the Kings, alongside the Lakers, are monitoring LaVine’s situation. In 2018, the Bulls had to match the Kings’ four-year, $78 million offer to LaVine, who was a restricted free agent at that time.