Former Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell does not have a good review on his return with the Lakers. Speaking as a member of the Nets, Russell recently admitted that he was glad to be back in Brooklyn and called out the Lakers for his alleged traumatizing experience.
“It’s great. I would never take it for granted, coming from where I came from,” said Russell via Mike Scotto. “Obviously, I was a little traumatized there. To be here and get the opportunity to just be me where there’s familiarity as well is just icing on the cake. I’m at the point in my career where I’m not going out and scoring 25 points every night and wowing with numbers. It’s a point where I’m trying to gravitate towards doing it the right way, and how I can contribute to winning is my priority.”
Russell, 29, has been with the Nets since December when the Lakers sent him there in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton. With averages of 13.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game for Brooklyn, he has seemingly embraced his fresh start following a second breakup with the Purple and Gold.
Nobody knows what exactly went wrong with the Lakers, but it’s no secret that he wore out his welcome relatively quickly in both of his previous tenures.
After being drafted in 2015 by the Lakers, he only played the next two seasons before they traded him for Brook Lopez and the rights to the player who would become Kyle Kuzma. When he came back in 2022, fans were hoping that his older age would come with increased maturity but that wasn’t the case.
Russell’s effort and passion on the court remained subpar and his work ethic did not align with the standards of LeBron James. Under head coach JJ Redick, Russell lost his starting role and fell behind other players at his position like Max Christie, Austin Reaves, and Gabe Vincent.
Russell’s inconsistency and inefficiency (41.5% shooting for LA this season) became major weak points for the Lakers and his lack of defensive awareness often made him a liability on the floor.
These expectations were seemingly too much for Russell, and when he cracked under the pressure the Lakers had no choice but to move on. Now, he’s claiming he was traumatized during his time there after failing to find success and repeatedly getting pulled out of games for his mistakes.
Now that he’s back with the Nets, Russell has a chance to play in a pressure-free environment unburdened of expectations. In 21 games so far, Russell is putting up modest numbers, but there is hope that the Nets will be a permanent basketball home for the 1x NBA All-Star.
Clearly, not everyone is cut out for the Lakers and now that he’s on a different team, he can start to play up to his previous standards. Of course, since D’Lo’s departure, the Lakers have been much better off and finally look like a team that can compete for a title.
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