Lakers Under the Microscope as NBA Talks Off-Court Trust, On-Court Chemistry
The most embarrassing season in Los Angeles Lakers history officially extended beyond the scope of their nightly on-court debauchery Wednesday night. One of the largest media contingencies of the season huddled inside an interview room before a game against the Miami Heat to hear what Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell had to say about something that had nothing to do with basketball.
The details aren't worth getting into here, but the aftereffect is. In almost any other setting, a privately recorded video should be irrelevant to everyone except those who are directly involved. But Russell and Young are public figures, and the distribution of their conversation—however it happened—shattered trust barriers. Its very existence ripped the fabric of common sense to shreds.
What should be nobody’s business but that of Young, Russell and Young’s girlfriend has mushroomed into a reputation-shattering scandal that the Lakers and their 20-year-old rookie now need to rise above.
“I know I’ve lost [everybody’s] trust and [I need] to gain it back,” Russell said. “That’s something you need for a winning team. You need everybody to trust each other. You need the first guy to trust the 15th guy, and that’s been my intentions.”
Trust is an easy thing to lose. In some cases, it can take months or years to earn. Universally, whether you're in the NBA or not, it can disappear in an instant. NBA players realize how sacred their alliances are and how valuable off-court relationships can be toward honing on-court success.
It’s far from an end-all, be-all. Talent, energy and relentless work ethic are necessary traits. But any and every edge matters in a league where the margins for success are razor-thin.
“Obviously, you have some concern,” Lakers head coach Byron Scott said about whether Young and Russell’s drama could have a negative impact on the team’s on-court cohesion. “We’ll see if it festers during the game or not. But yeah, you have to have some concern about it.”
Players across the league have spoken up about distrust in the locker room and why it can be so devastating. Here's what Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris had to say about the situation:
His teammate, Reggie Jackson, had a similar take on how this affects team chemistry, per Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders:
And Brooklyn Nets guard Jarrett Jack took to Twitter to share his opinion on the matter a bit more simply:
Despite the off-court drama, the Lakers managed to come away with a two-point overtime win against the Heat on Wednesday. Julius Randle charged into the lane late in the game and flipped in the same type of shot that he typically botches. About a minute later, after the final buzzer sounded, Russell and Jordan Clarkson sprinted toward midcourt to jump on Randle's back and celebrate the win.
To the casual fan who only saw that moment—and didn’t hear the Staples Center crowd boo Russell from when his name was announced during pregame introductions until he sunk his first basket—everything appeared on the up-and-up for a Lakers team that's tasted little success this season.
And maybe it was.
“You get in fights with teammates, pushing matches, shoving matches, shouting matches. You know, but like I said, you deal with it internally and you get past it. Because, like I said, the bottom line is it’s all about the team,” Scott said. “I’ve played with players I didn’t like as people. But they were my teammates, and you deal with that.
“So you don’t necessarily have to like each other to be on the team and get along, when it’s for the team. Everybody’s different. This isn’t something that’s new, as far as teammates go, when you have these type of things or issues that come up.”
No Heat players were thrilled to discuss what should be a private matter between two opponents. But they’re all players in the same league, and they all abide by codes that help regulate the workplace and prevent everyday nonsense from penetrating locker room walls.
“I think [off-court trust] is big,” Heat center Hassan Whiteside said. “With the Heat, we’re more like a family. We have an understanding of each other. We know it’s going to be bad days, it’s going to be good days, but we always have each other’s back, and we look after each other’s interests.”
This isn’t complicated. Russell’s immaturity caught up to him in a very unfortunate, very communal way. To some, the aftermath is indefinite. What lies ahead is the arduous labyrinth of workplace politics. No Laker will have the ball in his hands more than Russell next season; he needs to sell himself as an honest, trustworthy colleague.
But at least for one night, the off-court distrust appeared to have zero impact on the final score. The Lakers got the win, and Russell, who averages 65.4 touches per game, shot that number up to 92, per SportVU (via NBA.com/Stats).
He scored 16 points and attempted 19 shots—tied for his sixth-highest mark of the year.
According to Heat forward Luol Deng, that's the way it should be.
"At the end of the day you’ve got to do your job," he said. "Guys are going to get on each other’s nerves eventually. … It’s just really about keeping it professional and know that you’re here to play basketball together and be the best you can be on the court. Whether you’re friends or not, on the court, that has nothing to do with playing hard every night."
This Lakers season is long lost, but they can't afford to make a bad situation worse by letting mistrust cloud an organization that already has its fair share of issues to overcome.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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