The Los Angeles Lakers are the most renowned NBA franchise and as a result, have one of the most intense fanbases. Expectations in Laker land are always high, and few players play well enough to have the fanbase on their side.
Patrick Beverley realized that when he joined the Lakers in 2022, revealing on his podcast that he wished he knew how harsh the Lakers fanbase can get, using Russell Westbrook and D’Angelo Russell as examples.
“I wish I knew about the fanbase more. (I) would have stayed my ass off Twitter. Straight up. I ain’t gonna lie, Lakers fanbase is a motherf***er. They want you to score 30 every night, and the day you score 27, ‘Trade him, he’s a bum.’ You’ve seen it with my teammates like Russ and D’Lo. But it comes with the legacy they have also, it comes with respect.”
“ I wish I knew about the fan base, They want you to score 30 every night , and the day you score 27 Trade him, he’s a bum”
Russ , DLO etc”
– Pat Bev on Laker fanbase pic.twitter.com/QdPyOE2MQQ
— † (@HoodiHachimura) February 8, 2024
Beverley made a good point about the fanbase being very demanding of the players on the roster, especially the ones on social media. X, formerly known as Twitter, is full of reactionary takes from one game to the next, and players who spend time on those platforms will know how harsh people can get.
Russell Westbrook and D’Angelo Russell have been scapegoated by the fanbase for their struggles in the last two seasons. The dislike for Westbrook was justified because of how he was underperforming, but the fit was bad from day one and it was the front office’s fault for even expecting it to work.
D’Lo ended the 2023 playoffs on a whimper and was bad through December this season, prompting a lot of trade rumors. But his recent positive turn in form has led to more fans realizing that they need to stick with their roster instead of flipping D’Lo for another player who may not fit and repeat the cycle. Russell has been a great fit and the fan reactions against him aren’t nearly as toxic as what Westbrook faced.
Will D’Angelo Russell Be Another Victim Of The Fanbase And Get Traded?
The Lakers’ front office has stayed strong in not acquiescing to fan wishes for trades in the interest of maintaining assets. It’s worked out at times, like when fans were up in arms that they didn’t trade a first-round pick for Eric Gordon on the Rockets in February 2022. That was a great move in hindsight as Gordon wouldn’t have helped them avoid being the No. 11 seed that year.
But moves that the fans had no desire for or input on have caused them to backtrack, as seen with the acquisition and then trade of Russell Westbrook. Fans have flip-flopped on D’Angelo Russell’s place as a Laker this season, with his recent positive form prompting more fans to advocate keeping him instead of dealing him for Dejounte Murray.
Russell is averaging 17.3 points and 6.2 assists this season, with 22.8 points per game in his last 15 outings. Few available point guards are outplaying him at this time, and he’s averaging similar numbers to what Dejounte Murray is in Atlanta. Given the lower usage Murray would have in LA, it might be best for the Lakers to stick with D’Lo to be their primary guard.
Unless a needle-mover like Kyrie Irving was suddenly available, any trades the Lakers look to make before the deadline tomorrow should be without D’Lo switching franchises again.
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