Lakers Rumors: Concern LA Could 'Lose' D'Angelo Russell If Benched for Schröder

The Los Angeles Lakers might have to weigh the present and the future in their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers seemed to perform better with Dennis Schröder than D'Angelo Russell, who finished with a minus-25 plus-minus rating in his 26 minutes on the floor.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote how moving Russell to the bench would make sense but reported "there is concern the team could 'lose' the 27-year-old point guard if he views the adjustment as a demotion after starting every other game this postseason."

That's a risk Los Angeles simply has to take if head coach Darvin Ham believes starting Schröder makes the team better.

The last few years have illustrated how there's no guarantee the Lakers will be back in this position again in the immediate future. They followed their 2020 championship by losing in the first round in 2021 and missing the postseason altogether in 2022.

It's one thing for general manager Rob Pelinka to hedge his bets a bit and not trade away every single asset at his disposal. It's another to be five wins away from a title and worrying about how a player might react to a perceived demotion.

The Lakers should look to retain Russell when he becomes a free agent. He averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists and shot 41.4 percent from three-point range in 17 regular-season appearances.

Beyond the fact that the 6'4" guard was a solid contributor, L.A. couldn't easily replace him due to its limited salary-cap flexibility.

There's a reason Pelinka described his flurry of midseason trades as "pre-agency." Getting Russell and Rui Hachimura ahead of the deadline gave Los Angeles an opportunity to re-sign them in the summer.

One scenario is the Lakers move Russell to the bench, get swept by the Nuggets, and then watch him feel alienated and leave as a free agent.

That's not great, but it's arguably a better outcome to accept than willfully doing something that lowers the likelihood of winning a championship.