Minnesota Sports Forum

https://www.nbasocial.com/rumors/lakers-trying-trade-dangelo-russell-reportedly-burned-bridges/


Not sure if you guys seen this yet but rumor has it Towns and Russell are pretty tight and could be had for pick 5. Wondering what you guys feel on this.

Nope

I'd rather have Murray if he's available at No. 5 mainly for the extra year of team control, but if not, I'd get behind a trade for Russell. I wondered if that might get tossed around a bit after their recent time together.

No thanks.

The Lakers situation was so weird last year and I didn't see Russell play enough to get much of a read on him. He was far from impressive when I saw him but he is young and had to play with Kobe and Clarkson and some other nutso guys so I wouldn't go just off that.

Looking back he had a pretty good freshman season. He is a better passer than either Buddy or Murray and guess what? He measures out the same as Buddy who has solid overall length as a SG. So that makes him pretty intriguing.

If he was available for just #5 pick that sounds kinda good and also you gotta wonder why the Lakers would let him go for what at this point seems like a lesser value and a guy that's probably going to be less ready to help than Russell. I don't think it will happen but I suppose you never know and it obviously would depend on who was available for both teams looking to deal. I'm not sure about Russell's personality at this point (he was sort of uber confident cocky coming into the draft) but I am not closing the door on him based on what I know either.

If the Lakers were seriously thinking about this move, my guess would be because they like Clarkson and don't see them as a good pairing. Both PG's I think, and Clarkson is due a big raise.

Wow, great find crazysauce! I'm looking forward to reading people's thoughts on this topic, because I'm up in the air. If the Lakers are really trying to move Russell, and the Wolves are deemed to be a likely partner because of #5 and his relationship with KAT, this topic isn't quite as hypothetical as some of the other topics we've covered recently.

I thought about where Russell might go in this year's draft before I read any responses, and Cam might be going in the same direction I'm going in. A freshman coming off a good year is usually more highly regarded than an upperclassman, so I tend to think Russell would be top five this year...ahead of Dunn and Hield, but perhaps behind Murray. I think he would be somewhere in a tier with Murray and Bender, so trading a #5 pick for him has some logic from both sides.

Then there is the KAT relationship. I think all of us have been enormously impressed with KAT's character and basketball acumen, and if he was supportive of a deal like this, that would be a terrific endorsement.

Russell's first season was mixed, but I think his results have to be tempered by the oddity of the situation he found himself in. But still, his post All-star stats were quite good. 15-3-3 and 39% on threes. Yes, the assist total is low, but keep in mind Kobe handled the ball most of the time.

Defensively, he needs some work. I didn't watch him much his rookie season and actually thought he was impressive in his 2 games the prior year against the Gophers, but clearly his defensive reputation is not very good.

I thought Russell was a highly skilled, almost unique, offensive player coming out of college, with a very high ceiling. I was not surprised that he went #2 last year in a pretty good draft. But I'm not sure about the fit here. I don't know if he is a classic PG, or if he has some potential to play SG. Like I said, I'm on the fence on this one...it's certainly intriguing.

I still like Russell. I think right now he can be a good combo guard off the bench (better than Zach because Russell can actually run a PnR) and he may eventually take Ricky's spot. I think Russell would go 2 or 3 in this draft if he stayed in school so I would take him for 5. Just don't cheat on your girlfriend around him and you'll be fine.

monsterpile wrote:The Lakers situation was so weird last year and I didn't see Russell play enough to get much of a read on him. He was far from impressive when I saw him but he is young and had to play with Kobe and Clarkson and some other nutso guys so I wouldn't go just off that.

Looking back he had a pretty good freshman season. He is a better passer than either Buddy or Murray and guess what? He measures out the same as Buddy who has solid overall length as a SG. So that makes him pretty intriguing.

If he was available for just #5 pick that sounds kinda good and also you gotta wonder why the Lakers would let him go for what at this point seems like a lesser value and a guy that's probably going to be less ready to help than Russell. I don't think it will happen but I suppose you never know and it obviously would depend on who was available for both teams looking to deal. I'm not sure about Russell's personality at this point (he was sort of uber confident cocky coming into the draft) but I am not closing the door on him based on what I know either.

Selfish Punk and Overrated Player. He flopped last year as I expected.

Russell's RPM was 425th in league, close to the bottom.