The Los Angeles Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell last week from Minnesota as part of a successful three-way trade that also sent Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the California franchise.
Russell is in the final year of his current contract, which will earn him a total of $31.3 million, in addition to his departure into free agency this summer. However, the journalist ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that there is mutual interest between the player and the organization in signing a contract extension.
Talks have yet to start but Wojnarowski adds that the two sides are expected to meet to start negotiations in the coming weeks. The Lakers don’t see Russell as a mere piece of rent after giving up his pick of the first round of 2027 (protected top-4) and the second round of 2024. Thus, his future in Los Angeles as a starting point guard points, at least, to the medium term.
In his first three games as a Lakers player, Russell, 26, has averaged 17.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 30.2 minutes.
(Cover photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
