Griffin’s contract expires on June 30, and he and Gilbert chose to mutually part ways after being unable to negotiate an extension and not sharing the same vision for the team’s future.
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There isn’t a single guarantee that Russell would have become the savior the Lakers need, nor is it known if he will ever contribute enough to be a player conducive to winning.
April 2016 – After Russell’s snapchat became public and helped end Nick Young’s relationship, there were many questions about Russell’s maturity.
They could come up big by signing Los Angeles native Russell Westbrook, big-man extraordinaire DeMarcus Cousins, or even LeBron James himself. Cleveland then talked with former All-Star guard Chauncey Billups on Tuesday about a job in the front office.
Russell has shown tremendous flashes throughout his first two seasons but also struggled to find consistency. He also shot a career-high 34.6 percent from three-point range.
Regardless of what happens before now and the draft, it appears as though the Lakers are making a strong play to acquire George.
Team President Magic Johnson likes to tweet a lot, and Twitter found some old tweets of Magic praising the Lakers for selecting Russell as well as other things that are hilarious now that he just orchestrated a trade to get rid of him.
LA expects to keep hold of the no. 2 pick.
Photo Brook Lopez, with Coach Kenny Atkinson, is the Nets’ career scoring leader. “A point guard and I feel like I bring that to the team”, Ball said after his first pre-draft workout with the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers just made their official splash of the Magic Johnson era Tuesday afternoon. Pau Gasol is opting out.
One of the biggest obstacles was clearing the roster of Mozgov.
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Sounds insane? Well, before Tuesday, their chances of dumping Timofey Mozgov’s cap-swallowing salary sounded insane. He’s a native of Los Angeles, and averaged 14 points and 7.6 assists under Steve Alford. Per ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz on The Lowe Post this week, some within the Lakers organization were not enamored with his development, especially Russell’s inability to grasp the team’s defensive schemes. Mobility is probably no more of an issue for him than it is for Mozgov, though Lopez’s defensive rebounding could be an issue depending who’s at power forward. If the Lakers can also move Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, and stretch Deng’s contract, they will open up enough cap space to sign two max players next summer. LA could use the two late first-round picks to strengthen its trade package for IN with the goal of bringing Paul George to the Lakers. It’s a trade made with the future in mind for both teams. Lin is six years older, and Russell is still on his reasonable rookie deal ($5.5 million in 2017-18, $7 million in 2018-19, $9.1 million in 2019-20), while Lin is in the second year of a three-year, million deal that will earn him $12 million this season, and $12.5 million next. Aside from being the franchise player – despite the bad sports times for the Brooklyn – the interior has already added nine campaigns in the team, becoming one of the most recognizable faces when one thinks of the last times of the organization.
