>That is, if there are any
>takers lol and the FO actually has a plan.

No clue who'd take an expiring Russ deal on its own, and *especially* no clue who'd give anything of value in exchange. To make the money work, the Lakers would almost certainly have to send away picks with Russ. I'm not convinced there's a realistic plan in place.

>But with Ham, I want to see what this group can do before
>Christmas with so much competition in the back-court. if Russ
>doesn't perform, he might himself coming off the bench real
>quick with Schröder, Nunn & Pat Bev itching to get time.

Russ should come off the bench anyway, tbh. He has basically no value in an offense with Bron and AD unless he's shooting well from 3 (which he won't) or provided positive defensive value (which he won't). Nunn won't be a good defender, but he's a better shooter than Russ by a lot. Russ has the most value at this point as a sixth man bullying second units with his high-usage, high-volume play. If he can accept that role, he might be able to show some value in the market after this season. (I am skeptical he will accept that role.)

I'll be surprised if Beverly isn't in the starting lineup-- or at least the closing lineup-- by season's end. He's the only net positive point-of-attack defender they have in the backcourt (in a backcourt with a lot of mediocre to awful defenders), he shares the ball well, and when he was with the Clippers, he shot nearly 40% on standstill catch-and-shoot 3s. That's everything the Lakers need from their starting PG with Bron and Davis on the floor.