The Los Angeles Lakers have several things on their wish list as the new NBA season approaches, and one of them, at least in an ideal sense, is an upgrade over point guard D’Angelo Russell.
According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, a dream target for the Lakers who could represent such an upgrade would be Darius Garland, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ starting point guard.
“The Lakers may avoid the three-star concept, especially given the restrictive new rules and the team’s high payroll, which has bottlenecked its flexibility this summer,” wrote Pincus.
“Still, if Darius Garland became available out of Cleveland, the Lakers would probably offer both of their firsts to the Cavaliers for the young guard. Salary matching would be complex, probably requiring more than one team.”
Garland is a player who is a bit more proven and productive than Russell. He has career averages of 18.4 points and 6.7 assists a game in his five seasons in the NBA, and he has an All-Star nod under his belt from the 2021-22 campaign.
The year he was chosen to participate in the league’s midseason classic, he put up 21.7 points and 8.6 dimes a game.
He has been a central element in the Cavs’ resurgence after LeBron James left to join Los Angeles in 2018. They have made the playoffs in both of the last two seasons, and in 2024, they won their first playoff series since James’ last go-around with them.
There was some doubt, however, about Garland’s viability after Cleveland fell in five games to the Boston Celtics in last spring’s Eastern Conference semifinals. He averaged just 15.7 points a contest in the 2024 playoffs, and some are now questioning his ability to consistently produce in the postseason.
That is precisely the biggest concern with Russell. While he can get as hot as a pizza oven during the regular season, his play during the playoffs has been sporadic over the years. In particular, he has struggled mightily with his shooting in the last two postseasons against the Denver Nuggets.
A recent report indicated the Lakers don’t see Russell as part of their core moving forward. They have tried to trade him in recent months, but other teams don’t seem interested at all in him.
