NBA executive: Lakers could be a destination for Trae Young this summer
Ever since he was acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers in February’s Russell Westbrook trade, D’Angelo Russell has made a major impact.
He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists while shooting 48.4 percent overall and 41.4 percent from 3-point range in 17 regular season games with the Purple and Gold, and he has been the steady ball-handling guard they wanted Westbrook to be.
Russell will be a free agent this summer, and while the Lakers are widely expected to try to keep him, it isn’t a lock he will remain with the Purple and Gold, especially if another team offers him lots of money or if he plays poorly in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, there are whispers the Atlanta Hawks could make some major changes this summer, and one NBA executive said that if they want to move on from star guard Trae Young, he could be headed to the Lakers (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via Heavy.com:
“They went out and got tradeable pieces,” the executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. “If the Hawks don’t make a move in the summer, the Lakers would be a possibility next season. It would take a lot, and things would have to align just right for that. I also don’t buy that every guy who signs with Klutch is going to the Lakers, that is obviously not the case. But this is one they have been watching.
“The Hawks could look into the market on Young, but the thing is, it is not going to be as strong as they’d like. He has flaws, a lot of them, and they’ve sort of been exposed in the last couple of years. I am not sure how many real bidders Atlanta would get if they put him on the market, but it probably not as many as they think.”
Young is one of the more explosive guards in the game, and he averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists a game in the regular season. However, he is an inefficient player, having shot 42.9 percent overall and 33.5 percent from downtown, and L.A. has no need for an undersized guard like him who has trouble consistently hitting from the outside and is ball-dominant.
He has four more years on his contract at over $40 million per annum, with that figure topping out at nearly $49 million for the 2026-27 campaign.
All told, it’s hard to imagine the Lakers having lots of interest in Young, even if they wanted to move on from Russell.
