The Lakers are the latest team to exercise 2017/18 options for players on rookie scale contracts, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, who tweets that D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance Jr. have had their options picked up by Los Angeles. The Lakers have formally confirmed the moves in a press release.
[RELATED: Decisions for 2017/18 rookie scale team options]
By exercising the three options, the Lakers will guarantee Russell a $5.562MM salary in 2017/18, with Randle set to earn $4.149MM, and Nance to get $1.26MM. It’s a fourth-year option for Randle, who will subsequently be on track to reach restricted free agency in 2018. Russell and Nance, on the other hand, are one season behind Randle, so they had their third-year options picked up today.
Russell and Randle each averaged 28.2 minutes per game for the 2015/16 Lakers, and are poised to assume even larger roles for this year’s club. Russell was the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, while Randle was selected seventh overall in 2014, and both players are viewed as core pieces for this young L.A. team, along with 2016 No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram. Expectations aren’t quite so high for Nance, but the Wyoming product did have a solid rookie season, averaging 5.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG.