Noted Reporter Reveals Lakers Are Considering Garland as a Replacement for Russell; Lakers May Offer Two First-Round Picks for Garland

As the new season approaches, the Los Angeles Lakers still have aspirations to fulfill, one of which is upgrading their point guard position under ideal circumstances. According to renowned sports journalist Eric Pincus, starting point guard Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers is on their radar as a target player.

In his report, Eric Pincus wrote: “Under the constraints of the new rules, if the Lakers’ payroll is too high, it could affect the flexibility of their roster going forward, so they might avoid the concept of a ‘Big Three.’ However, if Garland doesn’t want to stay with the Cavaliers, the Lakers may offer their two first-round picks to the Cavaliers for this young point guard. Matching salaries will be very complex and may require the involvement of more than one team.”

From a statistical standpoint, Garland is a better player than Russell. Over five NBA seasons, he has averaged 18.4 points and 6.7 assists per game, and he was selected to the All-Star team in the 2021-22 season. In that All-Star season, he averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists. After LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, Garland became a key member of the Cavaliers’ resurgence. They made the playoffs for two consecutive seasons and won their first playoff series since James in 2024.

However, after the Cavaliers lost in five games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, some doubts were raised about Garland’s abilities. He averaged only 15.7 points in the 2024 playoffs, leading some to question his ability to consistently perform in the playoffs. This is also the biggest issue facing Russell. Despite his excellent regular-season performance, his playoff performances have been inconsistent over the years. Especially in the past two playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, he struggled significantly with his shooting.

Recent reports indicate that the Lakers no longer view Russell as part of their future core. They have been attempting to trade him for months, but other teams do not seem interested in him.