Raptors, Lakers engaged in trade talks: report
While it might be a lost season on the court for the Toronto Raptors, they don’t quite appear done making moves off of it.
Sitting at 17-33 on the season and 12th in the Eastern Conference, Toronto remains one of the more heavily watched teams ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Raptors are among one of the teams that has spoken to the Los Angeles Lakers about trading for former NBA All-Star D’Angelo Russell.
“Russell’s name has been mentioned in trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks in recent weeks, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote in an article late Monday night.
It is not clear what a possible return package heading the other way might look like.
Toronto has already parted ways with two of their biggest trade chips, making deals earlier in the season that saw OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam get sent to New York and Indiana, respectively.
At 27-25, the Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference.
While that might be a position for many NBA teams to either stand pat or sell at the trade deadline, the Lakers aren’t most teams: no other roster in the league has a 39-year-old LeBron James looking for one more shot at an NBA title run.
“I really just genuinely, humbly don’t care because I know I can’t control it, one. And, two, I just won’t allow my mind to go there,” Russell said Monday night about trade rumours. “I like to focus on this and you guys see how I’ve been focusing on basketball and not comments and what’s trending on social.”
Russell has averaged 17.3 points, 6.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 48 games this season. He’s on a two-year contract worth $36 million with a player option for next year.
Russell is in his second stint with the Lakers, having previously played with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets, and Golden State Warriors since his debut season in 2015-16.
And though it might not have any real impact on his fit with the Raptors, he does have some history playing in the city, as Russell was spotted hooping in University of Toronto’s Summer League last June.