Lakers title chances about to go from bad to worse after latest news

The Los Angeles Lakers simply don’t have a roster built to win a championship, as evidenced by the 3-0 deficit they face in their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.

Just about everything broke right for LA this season. The team got a healthy (76 games played) and dominant (24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 stocks – steals plus blocks) Anthony Davis. LeBron James played 71 games and averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists at age 39.

Yet the Lakers still needed to win a play-in game just to make the playoffs and could soon get swept in the first round.

Something dramatic needs to happen to the roster during the offseason if LeBron is going to have another legitimate chance at a title. But based on a recent report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (h/t Bleacher Report), things could already be getting worse instead of better.

D’Angelo Russell expected to decline player option, potentially leave Lakers in free agency

On the latest edition of The Hoop Collective Podcast, Windhorst claimed it’s likely that Russell will decline his player option for next season and test the free-agent waters.

D-Lo has obvious flaws as a player. He can be an inefficient shot-chucker and is more of a scorer than a floor general, something James and the Lakers needed this season. He did have a random, huge performance against the Nuggets in Game 2 – which LA still couldn’t win.

Russell signed a two-year, $36 million deal last offseason and the contract was essentially structured to make him a trade piece. When the Lakers were reportedly interested in acquiring Trae Young or Dejounte Murray at the trade deadline, Russell was the first name included in talks.

After averaging 18.0 points and shooting a career-high 41.5 percent from three this season (potentially an outlier for a career 36.2 percent 3-point shooter), he could get a deal worth more than the $18.7 million he opted out of.

That hands the Lakers a crucial decision: Do they shell out enough to bring Russell back and blow past the luxury tax and potentially a tax apron (or two) for a flawed player? Or do they let him walk and try and find a replacement in the bargain bin?

This offseason is a massive one for LA. If the Lakers can’t build a competitive enough team around LeBron, it’s not out of the realm of possibility he leaves for another team that’s ready to win a championship. And now everything just got more complicated.

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