Lakers Off-Season Review 2016: D’Angelo Russell

The Lakers have a lot to prove in the immediate future thanks to their promising young core.

It has been an interesting year, to say the least, since the Los Angeles Lakers decided to take Ohio State star point guard D’Angelo Russell with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft — which came as a shock to many because of the attention that at the time Duke center, Jahlil OKafor, had recieved all season long.

Even still, it was the ever-so-confident Russell that wowed the Lakers and earned himself a spot on the NBA’s most prestigious franchise.

And thus, D’Angelo’s NBA journey would commence in purple and gold.

As many of us know, D’Angelo wasted no time in making himself a polarizing figure to the public eye.

If all you watched any nationally televised basketball programming, the narrative you probably have of D’Angelo is that he’s a cocky 19-year old that got benched for being immature.

While the comedic value of such basic opinions are entertaining, there was much more to the complex rookie’s season.

On the court, Russell made strides throughout the season and was exemplary for stretches at a time, however at other times he left much to be desired.

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While his skill was never in question it seemed as if he mentally checked himself out of some games throughout the season, which could possibly be attributed to his alleged ever going battle with head coach Byron Scott.

But despite that theory, Russell still turned in 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists per game in 28 minutes on the floor.

He also set a new Lakers rookie record for 3 pointers made in a season (130).

Despite all of the things that kept distance between Russell and Scott, I think Lakers nation was generally satisfied from what they saw from D’Angelo Russell this season.

The potential is there, and this off-season D’Angelo seems to be focused on hitting the gym, building strength and hitting year two with much more ferocity this upcoming season.

While Russell shined on the court in many areas this season, it was unfortunate that his off-the-court matters are what seemed to open peoples eyes more.

Whether it’s him never holding back his feelings when speaking to media, or the infamous Nick Young scandal, he showed us that if there’s one thing he can already do that most NBA stars do, it’s draw attention.

However, there were bright moments where D’Angelo exuded confidence while also showing maturity and growth.

Take for instance after notching a career high 27 points against the Sacramento Kings on January 7th. Russell had sparked a Lakers comeback and toward the end of the game he rolled his ankle and was forced to miss the last few minutes.

The Lakers ended up losing that game but during his post game interview when asked if he felt that it had been his best performance of the season, D’Angelo replied with a great deal of confidence :

And while Lakerland viewed it as needed confidence for the young fella , the rest of the world , and for some odd reason Byron Scott, felt that the kid needed a scolding and disciplining of some sort.

There was also conflict between Russell and Scott when it came to playing time and what some viewed as an unnecessary benching.

And this was , in a nutshell, the conflict between D’Angelo Russell and Byron Scott all year long.

God forbid your starting point guard and your heralded number 2 overall pick tries to will his 15th place western conference team to a victory.

Win or lose you live with your young stud having enough heart to go out there and at least make the attempt to do what it takes to win.

Byron Scott, all season long, put handcuffs on Russell all because of how badly he wanted to prove he belonged.

So do I think D’Angelo was out of line? No.

The ball was in his hands, and he had to make decisions, it just wasn’t his night.

Interactions like these turned the heads of many media members as oppose to Russell’s on-court production.

But, that’s what comes with being a lottery pick rookie on the Los Angeles Lakers.

The ever so prevalent microscopic lens that the basketball world places over you, watching your every move , clocking every step and keying in on every word.

And this truth was never more prevalent than when a horrible prank gone awry went viral as a video of Nick Young, in what seemed like a late night confessional, admitted to acts of infidelity.

Here’s an example of how that affected the team:

We could go on and on about this embarrassing fiasco , fact of the matter is , we are all glad that it is over with.

Russell has shown remorse for his immaturity and has publicly stated that he just took a joke too far and is ready to move forward.

So now we all ask and ponder, whats next for “dloading” what is he ready to prove, what is he going to show us next season.

It seems that he has hit the gym hard this off season and looks to be approaching the game of basketball with a more business like approach now that he has seen what happens when you focus on being a basketball personality as oppose to a basketball player.

With new hired head coach Luke Walton on his way to Los Angeles and with the Lakers landing Brandon Ingram with the number 2 pick in this years draft lottery it seems as if things are finally looking up for the franchise, and who knows, maybe the best of D’Angelo Russell is yet to come.