Los Angeles Lakers' Next Era Will Be Headlined by D'Angelo Russell
For a 19-year-old rookie who has yet to play in the NBA, D’Angelo Russell exudes a remarkable sense of confidence and sangfroid.
After Monday’s practice for the upcoming summer-league games in Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Lakers' No. 2 draft pick was asked about the kind of leadership role he can take at such a young age.
“That’s something you have to have as a point guard,” Russell told Lakers.com. “I feel I can walk into a room with top players and still try to lead. It’s just a way of nature for me.”
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Much is expected of this future floor general, a one-and-done point guard from Ohio State who will spearhead the next generation of Lakers basketball. But Russell’s physics-defying passing and playmaking skills will give him an edge, as demonstrated through the Sport Science video below:
Russell is just one member of the team’s current youth movement, but he’s certainly the focal point at the moment. It's fitting, since he's the highest Lakers draft selection since James Worthy was taken as the top overall pick in 1982.
Other young roster scions include last year’s No. 7 pick Julius Randle, who sat out all but 14 minutes of his rookie season with a broken leg, and sleeper hit Jordan Clarkson, who rose from a humble No. 46 slot to the NBA All-Rookie first team. You can also toss in Tarik Black and Jabari Brown as undrafted rookies who turned out to be promising prospects during an otherwise bleak season.
There are also this year’s Nos. 27 and 34 picks, Larry Nance Jr. and Anthony Brown. And if they manage to make it to next season without getting traded, Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre have two and three years under their belts, respectively.
That’s nine players at an average age of 22, most of whom have one or fewer seasons of NBA experience under their belt.
Talk about a brave new world.
Granted, there will be a steadying level of veteran guidance, including the return of superstar Kobe Bryant for his 20th season. But the Mamba’s presence won’t exactly evoke a feel-good stroll down memory lane. He’s likely to push the crop of newbies fiercely, testing to see if they will rise to his own rarefied level of uber-competitiveness.
Russell will be awaiting that baptism by fire with open arms.
“I just told him I’m a sponge,” Russell said of a conversation with Bryant, per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. “Whatever he's willing to teach me, I'm willing to learn.”
But make no mistake: Bryant’s ship is passing into the night, whether his exit from the game happens this season or at a future date. Father Time can’t be defeated.
Or, as yet another oft-repeated maxim informs us, youth will be served.
There will be plenty of bumps along the way to the future, not the least of which could be conflicting methodologies. Lakers coach Byron Scott is an old-school type who has been endeavoring to instill a hybrid Princeton system that relies on off-ball movement and screen actions.
Yet Russell, Clarkson, Randle and new combo guard Lou Williams all thrive in uptempo situations, with a collective fondness for pick-and-roll sets and having the rock in their hands.
Asked after Monday’s practice about getting acclimated to Scott’s preferred style, Russell answered, “It’s an adjustment. I’m not used to it, but I feel like I can play in any system.”
That’s a positive outlook after one day of practice. It’s also one that will be tested in the weeks, months and years to come.
Yet, it is also worth noting that a couple of other headstrong guards cut their teeth under Scott as a head coach—Chris Paul during four full seasons with the New Orleans Hornets, followed by Kyrie Irving for two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
CP3 and Irving each possess plenty of willpower and strong ball-handling instincts, yet they blossomed under Scott’s tough-love guidance. The same is true for Clarkson, who grew exponentially as a player during his rookie season.
But the tone this season will be set by one player who’s already being placed on a pedestal: Russell, a laser-guided passing prodigy.
His new teammates are already impressed, according to the Orange County Register’s Bill Oram.
“He can pass the hell out of the ball,” Clarkson said. “He was able to move the ball well, and it makes the game a lot easier for everybody. It’s good running with him.”
Randle, who admitted being “surprised” by some of Russell’s passes, concurred.
“I can catch them,” the power forward with a penchant for running the floor said. “But it’s just having that point guard that’s hitting you right on time.”
From the point of securing the second overall pick in this year’s draft, it became obvious the opportunity for a generational power shift was at hand. There was a widely held belief the Lakers would select Jahlil Okafor, the elite big man from Duke.
But choosing Russell was about a vision for the future, and potentially, the Midas touch.
“He’s got gifts that you can work really long and hard on and still not acquire those gifts,” general manager Mitch Kupchak said after the draft, per Joey Ramirez of Lakers.com. “Some of them you’re just born with, or somebody sprinkles a little gold dust on you at some point and it’s just there.”
The Lakers headed into summer free agency after the draft, hoping to land a superstar. Instead, they wound up trading for Roy Hibbert—a massive defensive presence with one year left on his contract. It was the best move L.A. could make with options rapidly dwindling. But the 7’2” center doesn’t represent hope for the future in the same manner as Russell.
Ultimately, the Lakers are a team in transition with a highly moldable youth movement that begins with a teenage point guard’s arrival.
This is the dawning of a new basketball movement in Los Angeles, and it will be led by a baby-faced assassin with a sense of poise beyond his years.
The D’Angelo Russell era is here.
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