D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

You guys should let go. He is 20.

I get that all of you were the paragons of enlightenment and maturity when you were 20, but give others a break...

 

We finally take steps in the right direction and you're saying this? Come on man! We just survived the darkest era of our franchise. If you didn't bail then, why now?

I know you pointed out that it's more than just his shenanigans, so this isn't directed at you. But does anyone actually believe 99% of the all-time greats didn't pull this same stuff? As sirron pointed out, it's a different era and everything is documented. I have absolutely zero interest in what any of these guys do in their personal lives as long as it's not serious criminal offenses.

 

Why?

 

I am also now positive that @trodgers and @sirronstuff are the same person. He just got the identities confused.

 

my opinion isn't as extreme as rodg's, but i'd disagree with this claim. you can compare russell with some of his current peers and be left wondering why he doesn't have it together a little more off the court, even at his age. and this stuff spills over; the young fallout wasn't obvious and sufficient evidence, but it can be smaller, too. believe me, i don't want to canonize byron after the fact, but i think this is where his problems with russell originated (and there have been rumblings reported in the press that others in the organization were concerned last year, too): russell's immaturity stands out, even for a 19 year old, and it affects his game on the court.

now, were some all-time greats like this? sure. shaq is a clear example. but he had otherworldly, once-in-half-a-century physical gifts. the margin for error was huge. russell's isn't. if you're invested in him as a future lakers cornerstone, you want him acting like 19 year old kawhi leonard, not like, well, someone who looks up to gilbert arenas.

 

these are fair points, though i'm not sure in which direction causation flows. one could argue that sports are simply mirroring trends in society at large. self-promotion has been heralded over hard work, ethics, and even results in many personal and professional arenas, imo. the fact that it's writ large in sports isn't really shocking.

and i'm not sure how new it is, either. we're coming off a 20 year run wherein tim duncan and dirk nowitzki could never really capture the public's attention like dwyane wade and james harden. guys like russell see how much respect guys like harden get and think this must be the path.

so, in short, i'm not abandoning sports (though i've scaled back my level of emotional involvement), and i can't abandon society (i'm not a mountain man). so, i'll just have me some angst.

 

i don't disagree with this at all and that 99% number i threw out there was definitely a little extreme. when you look at the entirety of DLo last year, it definitely left some concerns for everyone. i'm more speaking to this recent "incident" of a potential escapade with that woman. i'm not defending his actions, but i am resigned to the culture and realities of being an NBA player to the point that stories like this don't phase me anymore. Ultimately, I'm more concerned with Russell's maturity on the court and the work he puts in off of it.

 

Sports is just entertainment for me. When it ceases to be that, I will cease to watch it.

MLB permanently lost me after they canceled the World Series and messed up stats for two years in a row. I never went back.

If Byron Scott was here this year, there's a good chance I would NOT be watching, but there's a good chance I'll give it a decent go this year to watch progress. There better be some dammit!!!!

 

That passing of the torch thing from Kobe never happened. But DAR stepped up and took it. Lakers never miss a beat now with still having a star player going forward for opposing fans, media and arenas to hate. Hope he really does have ICE in his veins and becomes good enough to be worth all the collateral flak.

 

Also keep in mind these kids are growing up in an era where EVERYTHING is available to them at their whim. And with that, so is the media there to capture their every move if not, they're doing it themselves.

I'm most definitely sure the younger superstars of old had there fair share of debauchery, it just wasn't captured on places like TMZ and readily available to upload at the click of a button.

Any sport you're going to have to get used to watching the Millenial era of athletes in this era of technology and reporting.

 

Also did not realize DAR and Jordan were "buddies" with Kendall in both their histories. No wonder they seem to get along so well.

 

Luke and Mitch need to have a conversation with him.

 

MAYBE to help him understand a little better what his seemingly immature personality doesn't .....about possibly keeping a lower profile so he and his teammates maybe go through a little less of the flack that comes with this day and age from the TMZ culture of reporting dirt. Seems like Luke would be the one to have the talk. If he becomes too big a distraction, as others have said, it could affect his professional perception within the organization. Operative word at the start is MAYBE. I think they for now let him be him but at some point don't want him going the disruptive in locker room Nick Young route.