Ahead of his return to the Crypto.com arena, Nets guard D’Angelo Russell reflected on his previous stints with the Lakers. D’Lo expressed appreciation for his time there but also explained how he was ready to move on from the organization.
Dave Mcmenamin: “How would you sum up your second stint with the Lakers?”
D’Angelo Russell: “Just a blur. I think coming in I was locked into what I had to achieve personally to be there. To not be there now is something that you try to get over and try to move past but that is a place that I’ve been to twice, there’s a home for me there. For myself, I feel like it’s a part of my career that you can’t take back. I appreciate it, but I’m looking forward to moving on.”
Russell, 28, began his career with the Lakers in 2015. He was drafted second overall that summer after an impressive college campaign at Ohio State. With averages of 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 41.0% shooting, Russell had a solid rookie year, but the Lakers struggled to gain any traction in the standings.
For his first two seasons, D’Lo was the Lakers’ starting point guard and the front office had a vision to build a championship team around him, Julius Randle, and Brandon Ingram. But Russell didn’t even play out his rookie contract with the Lakers before they traded him to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the rights to Kyle Kuzma (the 27th pick in the 2017 NBA draft).
Russell thrived in his time away from the Lakers and even made his first All-Star team in 2019 with averages of 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game for the Nets. It wasn’t until years later that Russell returned to the Lakers as part of a trade with the Timberwolves to offload Russell Westbrook.
D’Lo helped the Lakers make a run to the Western Conference Finals that season but his second stint was even shorter than the first. Alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Russell failed to fit in and when new head coach JJ Redick stepped in, he outright benched Russell for his lackluster effort during games.
Overall, Russell’s experience with the Lakers wasn’t great, and while he was able to learn a lot about how to improve his game, he was never quite able to play up to the franchise’s standards. He was inconsistent, a major liability on defense, and a major disappointment in the eyes of the fans.
At this point, it’s probably better for Russell to be in a different situation where he can play with a fresh start as he works to regain his All-Star status. With the Nets, he’s free to play his own game in a pressure-free environment where he won’t be blamed for every loss. He’s ready to move on with his career and it could be what he needs to regain his All-Star form.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, it remains to be seen how Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton pan out for them but the results have been mixed so far. For the team to truly compete as one of the best, they’ll likely need to make a few more moves to improve their depth, and trading Russell was likely just the first step in a series of major roster upgrades.
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