We have another superteam formed in the NBA with the Lakers adding Russ to the team. Some (Russ haters) would say that the Wizards scammed the Lakers in this trade. On the other hand, I think that both teams got what they wanted. Lakers got rid of Kuzma and Harrell who to be honest made more damage to the team than benefit. Only problem for me is KCP who was the main 3&D guy for the Lakers in the past two years. He had pretty much a fair contract and contributed really well throughout the years, this year in the playoffs with his injury, the Lakers did not have anyone to put on the perimeter to defend. I could see this being a problem if the Lakers do not find another similar guy during the summer.
What does Russ bring to the Lakers, it finally brings a proper floor general from the point guard position. LeBron can now become a secondary playmaking/ball-handling option which by itself sounds scary for the opponent team. Also, Russ brings something that the Lakers missed last year and that is the serious game approach, many times Lakers were caught off-guard because of this. Being lazy and not taking possessions seriously, with Russ on the court that should not be the case because his energy is contagious. For the first time in his career, he is surrounded by “normal” superstars (Harden- strip club egomaniac, Durant-feels offended by everything so he needs to take his talents to the best possible teams ever created, Beal-good guy but only God can change Wizards culture) and he is looked at as a third option in the team which can put pressure off of him so he can concentrate on making his game better. Another thing is that Westbrook is in need of revenge season and a deep playoff push so he can cement himself in the eyes of everybody as one of the best guards to ever play the game.
The bad sides of Russ have always been obvious, shooting generally is one of his flaws. Another thing that concerns me is the injury-prone problem that he has. He has not been able to stay healthy for a couple of years now and he comes in the team with LeBron and AD who have the same problem. Will they be able to sneak through the regular season with load management, time will tell. The spacing question remains, what is Lakers PO death line-up; Russ-?-?-LBJ-AD. These two question marks need to be deadly spot-up shooters for this team to work properly; can Wesley Matthews resurrect his career? If he is able to find his shooting ability again then that would be a perfect fit, definitely worth a shot. Los Angeles is always the preferred spot for Free Agents and Buyout players so it is up to Lakers front office to finish the puzzle they started with this trade.
Background photo credit: Sports Illustrated