Insider Jovan Buha on whether D'Angelo Russell could be traded this season

However, if that happens, it could still put D'Angelo Russell in a precarious position as the mid-winter trade deadline approaches.

Russell has been involved in several trade rumors since last winter. Lakers insider Jovan Buha said on a recent episode of “Buha's Block” that if things go well for the team, things could go in one of several directions for Russell regarding his future with the team (h/t Lakers daily). ).

“I think it’s too early for that – I don’t want to overreact to this game in any way,” Buha said. “I think if anything, this game was just a confirmation of a lot of what we already knew and saw. So I assume the plan is still to at least investigate the D-Lo situation going forward. But I don't know if his play really made a difference in one direction or the other. I think it's always been that way, if they wanted to make a deal, he was the only one.

“One thing I will say is that if the Lakers get off to a really good start and are just a really good team, it could go two ways, right? You could look at it like this: 'Do we want to break up this group?' Is it worth it?' Or you could say, “Okay, well, we're in a position to potentially compete, compete for a championship.” And now we're making this win-now trade. Let's take the big swing. Let’s put the first-round pick – or both first-round picks – on the table.”

“So it could go one of two ways. I think at least if they look really good and this continues, then I think you need to at least think about assigning a first-round pick to a guy like Gabe (Vincent) or Vando (Jarred Vanderbilt), depending on where he is with his injury progress. Maybe look at some of the bench guys and say, “Can we upgrade the pick and bring in another piece?” And maybe keep D-Lo or change his role depending on the type of player you're signing. So that’s one thing, but right now I don’t think this really changes the D-Lo discussion one way or the other.”