In D'Angelo Russell, Lakers See Superstar Quality That Has Defined the Franchise

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers' pick of D'Angelo Russell over Jahlil Okafor is being framed as a referendum on guards mattering more than centers in today's perimeter-partisan NBA.

It's more a testament to what makes a guard stand out, now and forever.

So many normal-sized people love the game of basketball that to rise above the rest—and almost all the giants—to the point that you become the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft takes a certain something.

The Lakers identified that quality in Russell. Coach Byron Scott explained it by saying, "Okafor is going to be a good center in this league. I think D'Angelo has a chance to be a superstar."

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the team would've been "happy either way" between Russell and Okafor but described Russell as "a player we couldn't pass on."

That's the fine line, much like if you fancied two different people but ultimately realized there's only one you truly can't live without.

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The question of how Russell became the guy the Lakers couldn't live without can only be answered by understanding that positions do still matter in basketball.

A dominating big man who can score at the rim on one end and protect the rim at the other will always practically be a one-man team. That's why Kupchak motioned toward the retired jerseys of Lakers centers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal on the wall of the club's practice facility Thursday night and reminded that he most definitely would've drafted any of them over Russell to play in this era.

The job description of a guard who can't stand alone in the paint will always be different. You get to dribble the ball up the court, and the onus lies with you to share it with others in a meaningful, unifying way when you're not filling it up yourself.

Greatness at the guard spot is about bringing the team together, by dominating on your own when necessary but also engineering a team machine.

Russell gets it. He so gets it.

"He's got gifts that you can work really long and hard on—and still not acquire those gifts," Kupchak said. "Some of them you're just born with or someone sprinkles a little gold dust on you at some point. It's just there."

Asked to elaborate, Kupchak veered into what could be interpreted as criticism or limitation. He's an excellent athlete but not one of the top-five athletes in the league. He's got great guard size at 6'5" but not 6'9", Earvin "Magic" Johnson size.

What Kupchak was conveying is that a dominant guard doesn't need to—and shouldn't have to—take over the game with singular force.

"He's got skills that are very good on all levels," Kupchak said of Russell. "But really, his ability to understand the game, see the floor, make a play, display leadership characteristics...I think that's his gift."

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Russell knows what sets him apart. He said it himself after his first solo workout for the Lakers, lamenting that there were neither teammates nor opponents out there to let his natural flow kick in.

Although many agents refuse to let top prospects work out with or against others, Austin Brown let Russell loose to play three-on-three in his second Lakers workout.

The results turned the Lakers' dreams into reality.

"The way he commanded guys to do certain things," Scott said. "The last guy to do that whom I played with was Earvin. Knowing how to get guys in certain spots in certain situations, [Russell] did that in three-on-three with guys he didn't know. So obviously, we're interested in what he can do in five-on-five with guys that he's going to be playing with on a regular basis."

It is worth remembering that as maniacally driven as Kobe Bryant has always been to score, he is No. 30 in assists among all those who've ever played the NBA game. Part of Bryant's legend is his being able to be the Lakers' quarterback at times, especially during the O'Neal years, and the guy running for touchdowns all the others.

The Lakers very much believe Russell is like Bryant in core values, including tenacity—which is the element many sweetly generous point guards lack.

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Chris Paul isn't without that quality. And as he and Russell are both represented by Creative Artists Agency, it was arranged for Paul to work out against Russell ahead of the draft.

Paul went to work out the frustrations of the Los Angeles Clippers' Western Conference semifinals collapse on Russell—much to Russell's delight.

"Chris Paul is a competitive guy," Russell said. "We got to go at each other. He didn't take it light on me; I didn't take it light on him. So it was great."

Scott coached Paul into stardom in New Orleans and made sure Russell knew that when they had their pre-draft dinner. The pass-shoot balance is one thing Paul has down, but his tenacity is what keeps his game revved up.

"Like Chris Paul when he was 19, 20 years old," Scott said of Russell. "I think he's on that level."

If the main-course intangible to be a great guard is his feel for the game, the dessert is a fire that could fry any Bananas Foster.

Russell has that too.

"I know my confidence has gotten me over the hump many times," he said.

Looking over to that wall of fame again, the only guards with their jerseys up there, besides Johnson, are Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. West's intensity is legendary. The opening words in Goodrich's Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame biography speak for themselves: "A tenacious and fiery competitor."

Great guards conduct their respective teams' orchestras magically and are driven to do it over and over and over.

The upshot of that? Making your teammates—and your team—truly better.

And that's the long-term relationship the Lakers realized they could not pass up.

Kevin Ding covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.