This year’s free agency period has moved slower than ones in years past due to the new CBA, but the Los Angeles Lakers have puzzlingly stood pat in regards to their roster.
Other than signing Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to their rookie-scale deals, the Lakers have yet to sign a free agent or make a trade to improve the team. Perhaps this lack of activity was coming as general manager Rob Pelinka emphasized how the new rules make it difficult to execute deals.
A trade seemed to be on the horizon when D’Angelo Russell picked up his player option for the 2024-25 season, making him an expiring contract on a value deal. Russell was always pegged as the most likely Lakers player to be moved in a trade, but now it seems that the team might be sold on keeping him to begin the regular season.
Despite his uncertain future in Los Angeles, Russell has been enjoying his offseason and while hosting his annual camp even made a donation to a park he grew up playing at to improve the basketball courts. After the gesture, Russell explained what it meant to him via Curadhan Powell of WKLY:
“For me, redoing the court was something that I wanted to really prioritize because I know you might not have access to a gym and having a nice court is always good enough,” said Russell. “This is a small gesture for me to get back to where I grew up, where I started, what inspired me, and there’s nothing for me to do that. So why not start where I where I started?”
It’s heartwarming to see athletes give back to their community and this seemed like a genuine act of kindness for Russell, who has spoken fondly about his childhood growing up in Kentucky. The donation will go a long way in renovating his local park’s courts and the kids who go will get to reap the benefits.
There are numerous children across the country who don’t have access to gyms, but Russell’s certainly doing his part to ensure that basketball is accessible to everyone.
Nets open to reunion with Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell
There have been plenty reports about the Lakers looking to offload Russell in a potential deal, and one team that seems like a natural trade partner is the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn knows Russell well during their time together and they’re reportedly open to a reunion with the guard.
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