When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell last February, general manager Rob Pelinka got to see the adult that he had become since initially being traded away to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017.
A lot changed since Russell’s first tenure as the Lakers were in the midst of a rebuild to trying to win championships. Bringing the guard into a win-now environment and an opportunity to showcase how much he changed since his first two seasons in the league has led to success for Russell.
A similarity between the two tenures though is the trade rumors as Russell found himself in trade talk once again this past deadline. During a time filled with outside noise, the 27-year-old pointed out that he used wisdom from Kobe Bryant to help him navigate through narratives, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
He said he thought back on wisdom imparted to him by Kobe Bryant when Russell, as a rookie in 2015-16, teamed up with the Lakers legend in his 20th and final season.
“‘Create new headlines,'” Russell said of the advice that Bryant passed on about navigating the narratives that can come with being a Laker. “And that stuck with me. … Don’t care about that. You can’t do nothing. How did you grow from it? That’s how I approach s—.”
Russell was able to be a part of Bryant’s last season, which featured a ton of learning and played a huge role in the guard’s development. Bryant was a mentor to the rookies and younger players on the team, giving him a chance to share what he learned in his 20 seasons in the league.
L.A. is not for everyone as the expectations and outside noise can be overwhelming, preventing players from playing at their full capabilities. It is good to see Russell using and applying the legend’s advice to the adversity he has faced this season.
D’Angelo Russell says Dennis Schroder prevented building relationship with Darvin Ham
When D’Angelo Russell was acquired by the Lakers, L.A. experienced an improbable run to make the Play-In Tournament and continued to defy the odds by making it to the Western Conference Finals. But while the former No. 2 overall pick returned to his first home, there were still some learning curves.
One of those being adapting to the system of head coach Darvin Ham, which Russell believed that former Lakers guard Dennis Schroder prevented him from building a positive relationship with Ham last season.
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