Timothy Rapp @@TRappaRT Featured Columnist IV September 25, 2024
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
New Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick told reporters on Wednesday that he’s spoke to D’Angelo Russell more this offseason than any other player, regularly expressing a clear message to the veteran guard.
“Let’s put you in position to have a career year,” Redick said.
Redick added that Russell will have a “major role” for the Lakers this season and that the veteran point guard is in a great place, praising his mentality.
The 28-year-old has offered a mixed bag in the last two seasons with the Lakers, however.
After coming over in a trade midway through the 2022-23 campaign, he averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game and helped the Lakers reach the Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
His season was ultimately defined by that series, however, as he averaged just 6.3 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers in Denver’s sweep, shooting an abysmal 32.3 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from three.
He was back to normal in the 2023-24 regular season, averaging 18 points and 6.3 assists across 76 games, though former head coach Darvin Ham did move him to the bench for seven games throughout the season.
Russell was less of a liability in the postseason than the year prior, putting up 21 points in the team’s lone Play-In Game while averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 assists in a first-rounder ouster at the hands of the Nuggets. It was hardly a perfect series from Russell, however—he put up a goose egg in a Game 3 loss and only shot 38.4 percent from the field in the five games.
At this point, Russell hasn’t exactly proven to be the reliable third option the Lakers need behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. After a quiet offseason from the Lakers, however, he’ll have at least a trial run under Redick as the No. 3 option.
Dave McMenamin @mcten
Rob Pelinka, when asked about pursuing trades to turn the team into a contender, says “we believe in this group” but added that it will take 30 games or so to properly evaluate what the team has this season.
This current iteration of the Lakers didn’t look like a contender in the 2023-24 season, though having a new head coach in Redick might provide a spark. Still, it’s hard to imagine Russell taking enough of a jump to justify the status quo approach for long, making it easy to envision the Lakers shaking up the roster ahead of February’s trade deadline.
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