The first-round exit in the playoffs gave the Lakers players plenty of time to recuperate, and the energy displayed by James and Bushy Eyebrows at the Olympics showed that their mental outlook and physical fitness were excellent. In addition, several other core players of the Lakers have different tasks and plans this offseason, Hachimura is also competing in the Olympics with the Japan men's basketball team, and Reaves is doing activities everywhere, and he is currently in the activities of the China tour. And the Lakers' core point guard D'Angelo Russell is now in Paris, watching the United States men's basketball team's Olympic journey. With an annual salary of 18 million, there is no accident when you return to the Lakers and are put on the shelf, and you usher in a turning point in your career.
While watching the Paris Olympics, Russell also gave an interview to the media, where he talked about a lot of aspects, in addition to praising the dominance of teammate James, Russell also talked about his former teammate Edwards. Russell praised the potential leader of the future United States men's basketball team, saying that Edwards is already very strong, and in addition to still improving in passing, Edwards is already a perfect NBA player in Russell's eyes. However, when talking about his situation, perhaps jokingly, Russell said that he needs to keep his small money, because against young people like Edwards, he can't stop them, even if he is not yet 30 years old, but in the face of Edwards, Doncic and other new generations, Russell seems to be unconfident.
Russell's statement has been recognized by many people, of course, he has a clear understanding of himself, from the perspective of Lakers fans, which is a bit laughable. Because of the Lakers' two-year playoff journey, Russell's performance is unsatisfactory, for Lakers fans, they must hope that Russell can be tough in terms of mentality, after all, he was the Lakers' starting point guard in the regular season, Russell's performance was absolutely qualified, but in the playoffs, he couldn't play his own style, which was mostly affected by mentality. And as an athlete, most people are confident and competitive, and no one will take the initiative to show weakness, and although Russell is considered to be self-aware, the former top star is still a bit disappointing in terms of mentality.
From Russell's statement, it can be seen why he chose to exercise his $18 million player option next season and return to the Lakers' roster. Truth be told, as Russell himself said, he wants to keep his "little money", and doing so (exercising the player option) is the only way he can get there. Because after being evaluated by the trade market, Russell, who has an annual salary of $18 million, has little value in the market, and even if the Lakers hitch a ride with a future first-round pick, they can't trade Dejounte Murray from the Hawks (and eventually Murray goes to the Pelicans). To put it mildly, even with a first-round pick, opposing teams don't think Russell's value is worthy of his contract.
With this example, I believe fans will have a new understanding of Russell's value. From a playoff perspective, Russell's offense is not guaranteed, and his defense itself is not aggressive, and it is not effective. With the problem exposed, it is now widely believed that if Russell enters the free agent market, the full middle class (12 million) will be the upper limit of his annual salary. Previously, Russell said in an interview that he was willing to play for a team like the Pistons. Of course, Russell wasn't courting the Pistons, he was just giving an example, and his original intention was that he wanted to play for a team that wanted him, and that team could be the belly of the losing streak.
Russell's statement at the time was also considered to be an expression of his dissatisfaction with his situation with the Lakers. Because it's not even a secret that the Lakers put Russell on the shelf looking for a trade. And at that time, from the perspective of fans, most people had already accepted the possibility that Russell might jump out of his contract and leave the Lakers in the offseason, after all, the Lakers have indeed been looking to trade Russell, and Russell is very unhappy with his situation. But in the end, Russell actually exercised his player option for next season and returned to the Lakers roster. However, even if the facts are different from the assumptions, it is easy to understand when you calm down.
After all, Russell's performance in the playoffs is still bad, and he has not proven himself, which means that Russell collapsed as soon as he arrived in the playoffs, which has become a label that Russell can't get rid of. Competitive sports are so cruel, for players, no matter how tough they say, no matter how dissatisfied they are with their situation, the initiative needs to be fought for by their performance on the field. Although the Lakers gave Russell the player option, it doesn't mean that the initiative is in his own hands, his performance on the court is not up to par, and his future is still up in the air.