In his first Lakers tenure, D’Angelo Russell was one of the torch-bearers of the future at a time when Kobe Bryant was seeing his last days on the NBA court. As Russell developed his game and grew his skills, the Lakers got worse and worse as a team until LeBron James came and blew the whole thing up.
The truth is, when Russell left the Lakeshow back in 2017, nobody thought he’d be back just a few years later.
“I didn’t know I’d be back in L.A. I had a feeling I’d be traded. I understand that. When it happened, I had a feeling. I’ve been traded a few times so when I have a feeling I’m usually right.”
The situation in Minnesota just wasn’t ideal for Russell. While he has been much better lately, D’Lo shot the ball horribly for most of the season and was often a negative on the floor due to his poor defensive effort.
The Lakers are hoping they can fix those issues, and count on Russell to be a consistent shooter and playmaker for the team.
The circumstances now are wildly different than his first stint in L.A., but he may find the experience he gained working with Kobe back then to be helpful working with LeBron and AD now.
“When I reflect on my time here in the past, it’s all about Kobe. I had some growing pains out there on the court but all that was really a blur. Appreciate Kobe when I was here. Wasn’t something I really did cause I was young. I was just kinda figuring it out. But as soon as I left I appreciated him more. Now that he’s gone I appreciate him even more.”
D’Angelo Russell on his time in LA and his reaction to being traded back to the Lakers: pic.twitter.com/P1Qj1CoFne
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 10, 2023
D’Angelo Russell played two previous seasons with the Lakers. Over those 143 games, D’Lo averaged 14.3 points, 4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game on 40% shooting.
Can Lakers Win The West With New-Look Roster?
The Lakers didn’t just set up a reunion with D’Lo this trade deadline. They also made deals for several role players, including Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
So, the Lakers clearly got better over the past week, but it will take a lot of work from everyone to make sure everyone finds their role on the team fast enough to make a playoff push in the West.
It obviously won’t be easy to come out of this as winners, but the Lakers at least gave themselves. chance to compete with their set of trades this season.
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