D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Opted In!

#23

 

lol westbrook is listed at #20.

anyway, he's paid less than all non-rookies ahead of him. #tradevalue

 

Irving taken to “train station” in Yellowstone series and dropped off it in that ranking as well.

 

Even after the series he had against Denver, counting all the pluses of having seen what DLO brings offensively and the chemistry he has with Reaves (hoping his new pecking order behind him now in importance to the team doesn’t change that) ….. I was happy to see him signed again. And especially at that salary and not having wasted the big asset by letting him walk.

But I gotta say (even though not having watched the podcast with BUM Beverley) …. just reading about how he acted and responded after being egged on by the BUM, has totally soured me on his mentality. PTSD from Westbrick’s complete lack of self awareness, definitely, and not doing himself any favors with that attitude.

 

Definitely addition by subtraction when we got rid of RWB

Still don't understand why Rob signed him in the first place

 

LeGM flopped on that one.

 

this is why i chuckled at westbrook ranked ahead of dlo.

so...we traded russ for dlo/vando/beasley. beasley sucked and barely played. vando is supposedly the very worst offensive player in nba history. and westbrook is better than dlo. why did we go from being one of the very worst teams in the league to one of the very best basically overnight?!

 

It’s only because of our lack of injuries.

 

lol, yes, i forgot. i mean, except for the half-sample absences of both russell and lebron during the turnaround...

and honestly, i didn't have a lot of arguments for the guys ahead of dlo on the list...except for westbrook. that's insane. it's like whoever created the list did so fairly sensibly for the most part, then had a stroke or something and inserted westbrook...anywhere.

btw, i found it funny that the guy on the list after dlo is dinwiddie, whom i said i would s&t russell for if we couldn't come to an agreement. i thought it would be a slight downgrade but similar skillset/fit.

 

the value you can put on each player really depends on the individual team and what they need. Saying someone has a particular value across the board -- well it's just content for a long offseason.

 

oh sure, but there are guys who are good enough to play in any system, and then there are guys who can be variably optimized.

i think russell does some very important things for us (primary ballhandling, secondary playmaking, shooting) that might not be as important on other teams. and our other personnel mean that we don't need a guy who's top 5 on this list and can work anywhere in order to be successful.

 

For instance, we don’t value RW’s leadership as much as the Los Angeles Toilets because we have leaders already and they bank the ball off the backboard more gently than one throwing a bowling ball over handed.

 

Austin Reaves on D’Angelo Russell as a teammate
Robert Marvi
Mon, August 14, 2023, 9:00 AM PDT




This past season, the Los Angeles Lakers went from having a substandard and ill-fitting backcourt to one that is now, at the very least, very solid.

D’Angelo Russell arrived in February as part of the Russell Westbrook trade that radically remade the team and made it into a championship contender. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves emerged throughout the season as a multi-faceted standout player and possibly a future All-Star.

Together, they comprise Los Angeles’ new and improved starting backcourt. While on the “Full Send Podcast,” Reaves praised one aspect of Russell as a teammate (h/t Sports Illustrated).


“He’s one of the most selfless people I’ve been around,” said Reaves. “He really wants everybody else to succeed and I think that’s why we have such a good relationship.”

Russell is in the midst of his second stint with the Lakers. He was accused of immaturity during his first stint several years ago, but he is clearly a different man now.

Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire

 

Man is the PG position stacked: basically half the league or more has an All star caliber PG on their rosters.
C is obviously the worst position to have your cap space locked into if you don't have an MVP caliber player there (i.e. Jokic, Embiid, AD) but PG maybe as well. So many high quality PG or players who can play that position right now.

 

More like a bunch of small 2's being called PG to me.

 

yeah, floor general types are in short supply, and are typically backups. that said, history indicates that having that type of pg really isn't important.

and as pioneer indicated--paying a ton of money at pg or center without a superstar there is a poor proposition.

i'm happy with dlo/vincent. our big money is invested in an elite playmaking pf and fully switchable center. this can work (and has worked).

btw, dlo looks cut up in ways he wasn't earlier in his career.

 

Yeah..he looks like he's been working out. I give him that.