Magic Johnson wants everybody to know he tried a smoothie honoring D'Angelo Russell

12/16/2024 02:03 AM

Since the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have stood pat as their rivals have upgraded their rosters. For instance, the Golden State Warriors acquired former Laker Dennis Schroder on Sunday to boost their defense at the guard position and help take some of the scoring load off Stephen Curry. While LA has enough scorers around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the team still needs to fill some pressing needs, particularly defense and rebounding. In other news, Lakers legend Magic Johnson did shout out point guard D’Angelo Russell in a recent post about a smoothie.

“I was at Erewhon this morning and picked up their new smoothie honoring Laker D’Angelo Russell!” Magic Johnson posted on X, formerly Twitter.

What should the Lakers do with D’Lo?

Now, Magic’s latest post could mean many things. It might be a harmless shoutout to D’Angelo Russell, the centerpiece in the blockbuster 2023 trade that sent Russell Westbrook away and helped the Purple and Gold jet from a 2-10 start to the Western Conference Finals.

On the other hand, though, it might be Magic sending D’Lo the “kiss of death,” a subtle hint that the front office is nearing a deal to send the point guard to another team.

Moreover, the two point guards have had some beef before, as Magic questioned Russell’s leadership ability during his first stint with the Lakers in 2017. Meanwhile, Magic had fallen out with Rob Pelinka during their power struggle to succeed as the Lakers’ new GM, though winning the 2020 championship seemed to have mended fences.

At this point, too, D’Lo may have already overstayed his welcome with the Lakers.

While Russell is a skilled point guard who can shoot and run offense, his inconsistency on offense and a lack of defense made him a less valuable playoff performer than, say, Mike Conley, whose veteran experience and skill provided stability to the Wolves en route to their first Conference Finals appearance since 2004.

What’s next?

His spotty playoff performance was already in full display in the 2023 postseason, and it became even more obvious in the Lakers’ first-round flameout against the Denver Nuggets in 2024.

Throughout his career, LeBron James has gained a reputation for pulling strings with front offices to get the players he wants, and D’Lo’s second stint with the Lakers may be numbered.

For instance, new Lakers coach JJ Redick has benched D’Angelo Russell for poor play, and the coach may have also recognized the redundancy of his skillset with Austin Reaves, who has better chemistry with Bron and AD and who can run the offense as a natural point guard.

Moreover, Reaves is taller and younger, and he can manufacture points by going to the free throw line reliably. At this point, D’Lo doesn’t fill a need for the Lakers, hence reports hinting that they’re looking for big men and athletic two-way wings.

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