Lakers Rumors: D’Angelo Russell primed to shine in sophomore season with Lakers

The latest Lakers rumors have a lot of good things to say about D’Angelo Russell.

His first season out of college went in about as interesting of a fashion as they can come, and the best part is that the sophomore campaign of D’Angelo Russell is going to look nothing like it.

Everything around him is going to be new, from not living in the shadow of Kobe Bryant to having a coach who understands the importance of growing pains as a player.

All in all, he won’t be the same player, either — he’ll be much better.

Russell averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while getting a hair shy of 30 minutes of playing time per outing — not bad for a rookie, but there was obviously room for improvement.

Bleacher Report recently published an article highlighting some of the players heading for breakout seasons, with D’Angelo Russell making that list.

Giving the young star support is one thing, but giving it to him even when he finds himself struggling is another story.

Whatever he can do to better master his game on the court will help the Lakers in both the short-term and the long run, as it will impact the influence of top draft selections or any off-season free agency additions the team is able to put together.

But above all of that, the way he carries himself off the court will be the biggest indicator of any real change in his approach to the game.

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As has been well documented by now, Russell wasn’t exactly the best at keeping secrets after leaking footage of teammate Nick Young confessing to being unfaithful that caused plenty of uproar around the league.

Russell came out apologetic about the incident when addressing the media after plenty of exposure had already taken place, but he seemed to stand firm on the idea of not letting the one slip up ruin the rest of his time in the NBA.

He wanted the media to know it too.

Under Luke Walton is where Russell will be able to let his actions speak for himself and it will give his teammates another chance to put their trust in him at point guard when he’s on the floor.

The last thing any team would want, especially the Lakers, would be for off-the-floor issues to have such a serious impact on the team’s ability to create chemistry on the court — yet that’s exactly the situation Russell created to end last season.

New beginnings aren’t easy for everyone, so there’s no telling at this point if it will be smooth sailing from the beginning.

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But it will be something he most definitely looks forward to.