The Los Angeles Lakers are about to usher in a new era following the retirement of Kobe Bryant. The team has a squad filled with young talent and will be led by a progressive new head coach. Luke Walton has already won over the young core with D’Angelo Russell leading the pack with heaps of high praise for his new coach.
Russell continued to praise Walton and his coaching staff on Wednesday by taking to Twitter to express his excitement for the upcoming season. Russell, much like most young players on the team, seems eager to get the season started with Walton and assistant coach Brian Shaw calling the shots:
This Laker coaching staff is something special. Man I'm excited #LakerNation
— D'Angelo Russell (@Dloading) August 17, 2016
Russell stands to benefit more than most from the new coaching regime in Los Angeles. Walton’s coaching style will emulate what the Golden State Warriors have been doing for the last few years under Steve Kerr, and Russell may see a huge boost in production as a result.
The Ohio State product is already arguably the best three-point shooter on the team and showed he’s been working on his range during an impressive performance during the Summer League. His backcourt mate Jordan Clarkson has also been putting in the work in the offseason with the help of Pure Sweat trainer Drew Hanlen. The third-year guard recently was seen in a video with Hanlen in which he drained 15 threes in a row with ease from near halfcourt.
Needless to say, the backcourt duo of Russell and Clarkson are motivated and ready to prove the doubters wrong next season. Rookie Brandon Ingram also has his own source of motivation with the 18-year-old’s sights set on winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award while Julius Randle is hoping to take his game to the next level. Even Larry Nance Jr. turned heads during the Summer League recently and could play a major role under Walton next season.