D'Angelo Russell: I Went Through A Lot With Lakers

[RealGM Wiretap]

D'Angelo Russell admitted to being irked by comments from Magic Johnson about his leadership.

When explaining the Los Angeles Lakers' decision to trade away Russell and build around Lonzo Ball, Johnson said the franchise "needed a leader" and someone who "can make the other players better."

Russell had previously downplayed Johnson's comments and declined to respond despite being asked about it repeatedly, including at his introductory news conference in Brooklyn this summer.

"I would say it ruffled a few feathers," Russell said on Friday. "But you control what you can control. He's in a position to say what he wants, so I just try to do what I can do at the end of the day."

Russell has played well to begin his career with the Nets and admitted that there were challenges while playing with the Lakers.

"I went through a lot when I was here," Russell said of his time in L.A. "It's nothing I could really control. It was out of my hands by that point [when he was traded].

"I went through a lot -- Kobe's farewell, everything. ... So just to overcome that, I salute myself for that."

Via Ohm Youngmisuk/ESPN

[ChuckChilly]

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

[Beethoven]

He's going to go through a lot everywhere you go. Issues are everywhere. It's all in your head. It isn't Kobe's farewell.
Keep saluting yourself. Whatever that means.
Well, I guess it means "I'm entitled to play victim"


I love our owner Magic!!
:fistbump:

[HotelVitale]

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

This your first year following the NBA? During Kobe's entire last year, the team let him chuck a huge amount of shots per game even though he couldn't keep up anymore. Guy had one of the worst mixtures of volume+shooting% in league history (he shot 36% on 17 shots per game), and the team was very clearly doing it to 'honor' Kobe rather than trying to win games. Kobe also played some astoundingly bad defense, his body was just done but he still played 30 mpg.

Not saying Russell should blame everything on that, but it was definitely a thing and anyone talking about basketball should know about it.

[Pickled Prunes]

He's going to go through a lot everywhere you go. Issues are everywhere. It's all in your head. It isn't Kobe's farewell.
Keep saluting yourself. Whatever that means.
Well, I guess it means "I'm entitled to play victim"

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

I won't try to defend his mistakes but D'Angelo is right. The Lakers have been a dumpster fire. Him getting drafted into the Kobe farewell circus was unfortunate. Add to that they were in mega tank mode both years. His development was definitely held back a bit. He's averaging near 28/6/7 per 36 right now. If he gets his 3pt figured out he should have a long career.

[danfantastk32]

A farewell-survivor.

[ChuckChilly]

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

This your first year following the NBA? During Kobe's entire last year, the team let him chuck a huge amount of shots per game even though he couldn't keep up anymore. Guy had one of the worst mixtures of volume+shooting% in league history (he shot 36% on 17 shots per game), and the team was very clearly doing it to 'honor' Kobe rather than trying to win games. Kobe also played some astoundingly bad defense, his body was just done but he still played 30 mpg.

Not saying Russell should blame everything on that, but it was definitely a thing and anyone talking about basketball should know about it.

I know it was a thing but being something to "overcome", I don't think so. He just had to fall back for a year. The Nick Young situation, now that's a real issue that will follow him forever, but he dug himself into that hole.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[ChokeFasncists]

That tanking/farewell thing was definitely very bad for development of young players.

They did get some high picks out of that tho.

[eureca20]

He's going to go through a lot everywhere you go. Issues are everywhere. It's all in your head. It isn't Kobe's farewell.
Keep saluting yourself. Whatever that means.
Well, I guess it means "I'm entitled to play victim"

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

I won't try to defend his mistakes but D'Angelo is right. The Lakers have been a dumpster fire. Him getting drafted into the Kobe farewell circus was unfortunate. Add to that they were in mega tank mode both years. His development was definitely held back a bit. He's averaging near 28/6/7 per 36 right now. If he gets his 3pt figured out he should have a long career.

I am not saying Kobe's farewell tour was an ideal situation, but I think it is more telling that he blames others for his shortcomings than himself. He only played 66 games with Kobe some of which he did not start. The Nick Young thing I feel was way more of a big deal than having to play during Kobe's farewell tour.

You can't really blame his situation last year for his play. They had a coach that fit the style he wanted to play. They handed him the keys. And I am not saying he was bad but if you expected more you have to look in DLO's direction as well. Lakers were rebuilding just like the Nets are right now.

DLO is doing well, but I don't think that is a Lakers vs Nets situation. That is a young player growing situation. He had his opportunities with the Lakers. He started decently last year for the Lakers and was shooting decently, but after he got hurt and came back his percentage stayed low. We all knew he had potential. Most Laker fans did not want to trade him. Obviously Kuzma softens the blow.

I actually think he would have flourished as the SG on the Lakers. It wasn't scoring where D'angelo looked bad. Yes he shot a low percentage but he had scoring skills. He was touted as the best passer in his draft class coming out of college. He never showed anything special there. I look at him more as someone that can score 20+ than someone that should be the primary PG of the team. Yes he can get assists as he will have the ball in his hands but not sure PG is his most efficient position.

[Slava]

Take some responsibility D'Angelo. The management trusted you enough to pick you 2nd in the draft and hang with you for two seasons despite the turmoil.

Teams picking in the lottery usually aren't doing very well so if you are a lottery pick you end up in a franchise going through rebuilding.

Porzingis is in an eternally crappy situation with the Knicks but he's not out there making excuses for himself.

Kobe didn't ask you to film teammates in hotel rooms.

[Clemenza]

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

Nah I sure that season took a toll on everybody not named Kobe Bryant. Plus wasn't Kobe cursing out coaches/teammates and walking out of practices when he did decide to show up?

[JellosJigglin]

Hardly knew you d'angelo. Seeya.

[eureca20]

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

Nah I sure that season took a toll on everybody not named Kobe Bryant. Plus wasn't Kobe cursing out coaches/teammates and walking out of practices when he did decide to show up?

*Clutches pearls*

Still not sure how they ever recovered from Kobe saying the F word.

[Pickled Prunes]

He's going to go through a lot everywhere you go. Issues are everywhere. It's all in your head. It isn't Kobe's farewell.
Keep saluting yourself. Whatever that means.
Well, I guess it means "I'm entitled to play victim"

"Overcoming" Kobe's farewell? Must have been really tough.

I won't try to defend his mistakes but D'Angelo is right. The Lakers have been a dumpster fire. Him getting drafted into the Kobe farewell circus was unfortunate. Add to that they were in mega tank mode both years. His development was definitely held back a bit. He's averaging near 28/6/7 per 36 right now. If he gets his 3pt figured out he should have a long career.

I am not saying Kobe's farewell tour was an ideal situation, but I think it is more telling that he blames others for his shortcomings than himself. He only played 66 games with Kobe some of which he did not start. The Nick Young thing I feel was way more of a big deal than having to play during Kobe's farewell tour.

You can't really blame his situation last year for his play. They had a coach that fit the style he wanted to play. They handed him the keys. And I am not saying he was bad but if you expected more you have to look in DLO's direction as well. Lakers were rebuilding just like the Nets are right now.

DLO is doing well, but I don't think that is a Lakers vs Nets situation. That is a young player growing situation. He had his opportunities with the Lakers. He started decently last year for the Lakers and was shooting decently, but after he got hurt and came back his percentage stayed low. We all knew he had potential. Most Laker fans did not want to trade him. Obviously Kuzma softens the blow.

I actually think he would have flourished as the SG on the Lakers. It wasn't scoring where D'angelo looked bad. Yes he shot a low percentage but he had scoring skills. He was touted as the best passer in his draft class coming out of college. He never showed anything special there. I look at him more as someone that can score 20+ than someone that should be the primary PG of the team. Yes he can get assists as he will have the ball in his hands but not sure PG is his most efficient position.

You're right, he is ideally a SG, which is where the Nets had him pegged prior to Lin going down. The Nick Young thing has nothing to do with basketball so it's not really relevant other than it proves he was young. But saying they handed him the keys is a stretch. He played the 4th most minutes at around 28 per game. Nobody played more than 30 minutes which leads to hodgepodge lineups that look out of sync in offense and defense. (All part of the tank.) They were clearly developing players and making no real effort to win. But now they have Lonzo so it was all worth while, right? Well they had better do better with Lonzo than they did with Russell, Ingram or Randall because when everyone is underachieving it's usually the teacher.

[eureca20]

I won't try to defend his mistakes but D'Angelo is right. The Lakers have been a dumpster fire. Him getting drafted into the Kobe farewell circus was unfortunate. Add to that they were in mega tank mode both years. His development was definitely held back a bit. He's averaging near 28/6/7 per 36 right now. If he gets his 3pt figured out he should have a long career.

I am not saying Kobe's farewell tour was an ideal situation, but I think it is more telling that he blames others for his shortcomings than himself. He only played 66 games with Kobe some of which he did not start. The Nick Young thing I feel was way more of a big deal than having to play during Kobe's farewell tour.

You can't really blame his situation last year for his play. They had a coach that fit the style he wanted to play. They handed him the keys. And I am not saying he was bad but if you expected more you have to look in DLO's direction as well. Lakers were rebuilding just like the Nets are right now.

DLO is doing well, but I don't think that is a Lakers vs Nets situation. That is a young player growing situation. He had his opportunities with the Lakers. He started decently last year for the Lakers and was shooting decently, but after he got hurt and came back his percentage stayed low. We all knew he had potential. Most Laker fans did not want to trade him. Obviously Kuzma softens the blow.

I actually think he would have flourished as the SG on the Lakers. It wasn't scoring where D'angelo looked bad. Yes he shot a low percentage but he had scoring skills. He was touted as the best passer in his draft class coming out of college. He never showed anything special there. I look at him more as someone that can score 20+ than someone that should be the primary PG of the team. Yes he can get assists as he will have the ball in his hands but not sure PG is his most efficient position.

You're right, he is ideally a SG, which is where the Nets had him pegged prior to Lin going down. The Nick Young thing has nothing to do with basketball so it's not really relevant other than it proves he was young. But saying they handed him the keys is a stretch. He played the 4th most minutes at around 28 per game. Nobody played more than 30 minutes which leads to hodgepodge lineups that look out of sync in offense and defense. (All part of the tank.) They were clearly developing players and making no real effort to win. But now they have Lonzo so it was all worth while, right? Well they had better do better with Lonzo than they did with Russell, Ingram or Randall because when everyone is underachieving it's usually the teacher.

Sure Luke will be criticized more as he gets more time. I will say of the people you mentioned Ingram and Randle have looked good this year. Obviously small sample size. Other players have looked good as well. Lonzo is definitely going to be a process offensively. He has done other things well. Surprisingly better defensively than I expected.

As for D'Angelo's minutes. He definitely could have played more but lets not act like 28 to 29 minutes is a low amount. He is playing less for the Nets right now. Also you say 4th most minutes as if there is a big gap in minutes played between 4th and 1st. Outside of Larry Nance Jr. The Lakers youngins played virtually the same amount of minutes. Maybe it is somewhat of a stretch to say they handed over the keys. What I meant was that he was given the ball as a starter from day 1 and looked at him to lead the team.

And really they weren't tanking to start the season. They tried to sign Mozgov and Deng to get better. Obviously horrible signings by people who no longer are in charge. Mozgov/Deng sucked. People were trying to say the Lakers were tanking when they benched Mozgov and Deng. Statistically the Lakers would have been trying to lose if they would have kept playing Mozgov and Deng. When the Lakers traded Lou Williams at the deadline and benched Nick Young late in the season now those were tank moves. They were the Lakers 2 best offensive players.

[ChokeFasncists]

I won't try to defend his mistakes but D'Angelo is right. The Lakers have been a dumpster fire. Him getting drafted into the Kobe farewell circus was unfortunate. Add to that they were in mega tank mode both years. His development was definitely held back a bit. He's averaging near 28/6/7 per 36 right now. If he gets his 3pt figured out he should have a long career.

I am not saying Kobe's farewell tour was an ideal situation, but I think it is more telling that he blames others for his shortcomings than himself. He only played 66 games with Kobe some of which he did not start. The Nick Young thing I feel was way more of a big deal than having to play during Kobe's farewell tour.

You can't really blame his situation last year for his play. They had a coach that fit the style he wanted to play. They handed him the keys. And I am not saying he was bad but if you expected more you have to look in DLO's direction as well. Lakers were rebuilding just like the Nets are right now.

DLO is doing well, but I don't think that is a Lakers vs Nets situation. That is a young player growing situation. He had his opportunities with the Lakers. He started decently last year for the Lakers and was shooting decently, but after he got hurt and came back his percentage stayed low. We all knew he had potential. Most Laker fans did not want to trade him. Obviously Kuzma softens the blow.

I actually think he would have flourished as the SG on the Lakers. It wasn't scoring where D'angelo looked bad. Yes he shot a low percentage but he had scoring skills. He was touted as the best passer in his draft class coming out of college. He never showed anything special there. I look at him more as someone that can score 20+ than someone that should be the primary PG of the team. Yes he can get assists as he will have the ball in his hands but not sure PG is his most efficient position.

You're right, he is ideally a SG, which is where the Nets had him pegged prior to Lin going down. The Nick Young thing has nothing to do with basketball so it's not really relevant other than it proves he was young. But saying they handed him the keys is a stretch. He played the 4th most minutes at around 28 per game. Nobody played more than 30 minutes which leads to hodgepodge lineups that look out of sync in offense and defense. (All part of the tank.) They were clearly developing players and making no real effort to win. But now they have Lonzo so it was all worth while, right? Well they had better do better with Lonzo than they did with Russell, Ingram or Randall because when everyone is underachieving it's usually the teacher.

Truly. Lin's injury was a disaster on many levels. One victim might be Russell's development. Sigh......

[Pickled Prunes]

I am not saying Kobe's farewell tour was an ideal situation, but I think it is more telling that he blames others for his shortcomings than himself. He only played 66 games with Kobe some of which he did not start. The Nick Young thing I feel was way more of a big deal than having to play during Kobe's farewell tour.

You can't really blame his situation last year for his play. They had a coach that fit the style he wanted to play. They handed him the keys. And I am not saying he was bad but if you expected more you have to look in DLO's direction as well. Lakers were rebuilding just like the Nets are right now.

DLO is doing well, but I don't think that is a Lakers vs Nets situation. That is a young player growing situation. He had his opportunities with the Lakers. He started decently last year for the Lakers and was shooting decently, but after he got hurt and came back his percentage stayed low. We all knew he had potential. Most Laker fans did not want to trade him. Obviously Kuzma softens the blow.

I actually think he would have flourished as the SG on the Lakers. It wasn't scoring where D'angelo looked bad. Yes he shot a low percentage but he had scoring skills. He was touted as the best passer in his draft class coming out of college. He never showed anything special there. I look at him more as someone that can score 20+ than someone that should be the primary PG of the team. Yes he can get assists as he will have the ball in his hands but not sure PG is his most efficient position.

You're right, he is ideally a SG, which is where the Nets had him pegged prior to Lin going down. The Nick Young thing has nothing to do with basketball so it's not really relevant other than it proves he was young. But saying they handed him the keys is a stretch. He played the 4th most minutes at around 28 per game. Nobody played more than 30 minutes which leads to hodgepodge lineups that look out of sync in offense and defense. (All part of the tank.) They were clearly developing players and making no real effort to win. But now they have Lonzo so it was all worth while, right? Well they had better do better with Lonzo than they did with Russell, Ingram or Randall because when everyone is underachieving it's usually the teacher.

Sure Luke will be criticized more as he gets more time. I will say of the people you mentioned Ingram and Randle have looked good this year. Obviously small sample size. Other players have looked good as well. Lonzo is definitely going to be a process offensively. He has done other things well. Surprisingly better defensively than I expected.

As for D'Angelo's minutes. He definitely could have played more but lets not act like 28 to 29 minutes is a low amount. He is playing less for the Nets right now. Also you say 4th most minutes as if there is a big gap in minutes played between 4th and 1st. Outside of Larry Nance Jr. The Lakers youngins played virtually the same amount of minutes. Maybe it is somewhat of a stretch to say they handed over the keys. What I meant was that he was given the ball as a starter from day 1 and looked at him to lead the team.

And really they weren't tanking to start the season. They tried to sign Mozgov and Deng to get better. Obviously horrible signings by people who no longer are in charge. Mozgov/Deng sucked. People were trying to say the Lakers were tanking when they benched Mozgov and Deng. Statistically the Lakers would have been trying to lose if they would have kept playing Mozgov and Deng. When the Lakers traded Lou Williams at the deadline and benched Nick Young late in the season now those were tank moves. They were the Lakers 2 best offensive players.

I Think you missed my point. Russell was 105th in the league in minutes last year behind Clarkson 96th, Ingram 102nd and Randle 104th. And they all looked good at times. But players need minutes to develop and teams need their best players to log minutes together if they want to win. Luke was clearly given a mandate to play them less than 30 minutes a night.... because he was driving a tank. No reason to accidentally win by playing you best players 32+ minutes. You've got to get your D/G-Leaguers out there to let the game get away from you.

And Mozgov and Deng were a desperation heave by Jim Buss in attempt to stay in control of the team. A pointless move since he also knew they needed to tank. And look, I'm not picking on the Lakers. About 6-8 teams seem to be trying to lose every year now. It's just what it is, unfortunately.

[We Are Groot]

the Lakes did not tank @ any point last season, full stop ... the Moz & Deng signings weren't part of a plan to tank. who pays 140M to try to tank? esp'ly to start the season Lou Will & Nick were getting minutes ahead of D-Lo bc Luke was trying to win games. Even after they traded Lou & benched swaggy, the objective was to prioritize the development of the youth, not to tank explicitly. In fact, if you look @ that stretch of games to end the season, SA & PHX stand out specifically, they won a lot of games while the narrative was they were hurting their lottery odds. Again, this is not tanking; Jeanie stated on record adamantly, that the proud Lakers would never intentionally plan to lose games; it's just not the way they operate, even if so many other teams are perceived as having success thru tanking.

The Lakers lost games because they were a bad team, put together by a disorganized FO. They got lucky and leap-frogged teams with worse records in the lottery. That 2nd pick was more a result of luck & jus being bad, not any organized plan to tank.

and D-Lo was given plenty of opportunity here, full stop ... his issues went beyond minutes & the Swaggy incident - i can remember video breakdowns of his aloofness on the court; and this was @ mid-season. granted the team situation as a whole was chaotic, but if he's going to bring up "things he can control" altertness on the court and being ready to play definitely fall squarely in that category. There were also reports about character issues off the court; again, well within the realm of "things he can control." as a Laker fan, i hated the trade; still do & i'm not alone in this sentiment. but his character issues and immaturity were real - i just don't think they were reason enough to bail on the kid, but i also think it's fair to say he didn't help his case any with the behavior he exhibited. as an aside, the narrative that giving players mins speeds up their development is a half truth. Most development happens off the court; nobody is "entitled" to mins. Game time is when the hard work pays off and you show you're improving from working hard in practice and preparation.

i don't bear any ill will toward D-Lo. i'm genuinely happy for him in that he ended up on a big market team that's going to showcase him, and where he can grow as a player. maybe his growth would have been different with Ball getting all the attn in LA. He was an exciting & charismatic player here and one of the bright spots during last year's dismal season. all that being said, i wldnt be shocked if he did sumn knuckle-headed once the honeymoon in Brooklyn ends. i'm not hoping for this, it's the last thing he needs in his life ... i'm jus sayn i wldn't be surprised

[rzzzzz]

don't know how much influence Magic had at the time, but between him and pundits last second infatuation with "the modern game", Jimmy Buss got weak in the knees and flubbed his last chance to stick around. (hard to believe that Magic was that prescient to have planned that outcome, right?)

[eureca20]

don't know how much influence Magic had at the time, but between him and pundits last second infatuation with "the modern game", Jimmy Buss got weak in the knees and flubbed his last chance to stick around. (hard to believe that Magic was that prescient to have planned that outcome, right?)

Magic wasn't involved with the Lakers when they signed Mozgov and Deng. He was hired as an advisor for Jeanie Buss in early February. By that point it was just a matter of time before Jim/Mitch were fired. Which they were 3 weeks later right before the trade deadline before they could make any other moves.