JSM posted a link and I read just the part he quoted. Then went to the full interview. Big Balls. A Man. Honest. Hang in there kid!!! (long scroll down to get to it) http://www.nba.com/2016/news/featur...ummond-qa-dangelo-russell/index.html#question attorney Joe Miller says in the great movie "Philadelphia," looking to break down the wordy or complex in a few simple sentences. Unfortunately, playing point guard in the NBA can't be deciphered so swiftly. For a young player it is an almost impossible challenge: learning sets, and plays, and reproducing their actions on the court, in real time, on command. It's knowing exactly when and where your teammates want the ball, and being able to deliver it. It's keeping the ball away from lightning-quick defenders who know your plays and sets better than you; trying to lead grown men who are older and wiser than you and trying to get your own shine going, at both ends of the floor. D'Angelo Russell is barely two years old in NBA years. At 19, the second pick overall in the 2015 Draft is barely coherent in his first pro season -- not off the court, where he is funny, introspective and confident, but on it, where he is currently timid and uncertain. The Lakers knew this would probably happen when they picked Russell after just one season at Ohio State, but thought his passing genius was too precocious and had too much potential to pass up. So L.A. took Russell over the likes of Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis, both of whom are putting up much better numbers than Russell so far in their rookie seasons -- while Russell careens in and out of the starting lineup, the veins in Byron Scott's head at Defcon II as he tries to explain what he needs out of Russell, to Russell. He's had some promising moments, including a big night last month in Sacramento to lead the Lakers back from a 27-point third-quarter deficit last month that almost resulted in a win, teaming with second-year guard Jordan Clarkson in what the Lakers hope is their backcourt of the near future. Russell Shines In Sacramento D'angelo Russell scores a career-high 27 points on 11-16 shooting with three triples, four assists and two steals versus Sacramento. But he's stubbed his toe more, including jacking up some ill-advised shots during the Lakers' two-point loss to the Mavericks last week that led to a seat on the bench down the stretch. But Russell is trying to hang in there, even as his name is mentioned as possible trade bait, and as he tries to figure out how to maintain during Kobe Bryant's last ride, and the nightly juggling act that ensues from that circus. Welcome to the NBA, rook. Me: It's hard enough being a rookie in this league, and then you throw in Kobe's farewell tour and everything else, like trying to learn how to be an NBA point guard. How do you find your equilibrium? D'Angelo Russell: First of all, everything's new. I didn't even know there was such thing as a farewell tour and all that, obviously. So getting the opportunity to witness it -- I didn't know it would be Kobe's last year -- a lot of attention and praise is going his way. And he's earned it. So we've just got to do a good job of supporting him and really trying to stay focused and prepared for the next game, win or lose. I just try to stay level-headed, don't try to get too high or too low on individual or team performance. Me: Do you look at this season as anything that happens this year is a learning experience and I have to just roll with it, or I still have to try and develop myself as a player in this league? I truly just want to finish out the games strong, finish out this year strong, and start to go in the right path of what kind of player I'm going to be. – Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell DR: You've got to earn your stripes. Nobody's going to give 'em to you. Nobody's going to feel bad for you if you don't. You get replaced in this league. So, try to find a way to stick. That's the biggest step for me coming in, being a rookie. Everybody looks at you as fresh meat. Like, we can go at this kid. Or, we got a night off when we've got the Lakers or whatnot. I really don't get too involved in it, 'cause I know it's not something I can control, as far as what other people think of me. I can just go out there and compete, and when the end of the night comes, they can look at it as we can respect him, or they don't. And it's as simple as that. Me: We did your game in Sacramento when you scored 27 points, and you and Julius Randle and Jordan brought the team back, and afterward, you said 'you all ain't seen nothing yet.' What was flowing that night? Russell and Kobe As National Mentoring Month comes to a close today, D'Angelo Russell of the LA Lakers talks about learning from veteran teammate Kobe Bryant. DR: Really, it was my emotions. When you feel like you belong, your confidence starts to go up. I just feel like I know what I'm capable of as a person and as a player, and I know the work that I put in. Nobody's perfect; nobody's going to come out and perform their best every night. But looking for that consistency. I felt like I found some consistency that night. But I'm still going to have multiple turnovers. I'm still going to have multiple rookie lapses. I mean, it happens. I know what I've done to get here, and I know the work I've put in to get here, so when I have nights like that, I'm just confident in myself. I'm just like, I know I can do this. Me: How are you and Jordan adjusting to one another? DR: It's great. Looking at it from a standpoint of watching him, how he starts the game, and how teams are guarding him, it makes it easier for me, so when I come into the game, with the second unit, I know how they're guarding, how they're using their personnel on the floor and stuff like that. It kind of makes it easier for me. We talk a lot off the floor, and then when we're on the floor together, we kind of use other ways to connect, as far as backdoors, transitions, trying to get easy plays, stuff like that. But he's always coaching on the floor, if he's not playing. On the plane, you can talk to him about anything, and he'll try to give you the best perspective about it -- positive or negative. ... He's one of those guys that, when you come to a situation and you're not sure, you can say 'what would Kobe do?' – Russell, on Kobe Bryant Me: What's the best lesson you've gotten on the floor so far -- just playing against someone who did something that made you go 'wow, that was good'? DR: I would say there's always little defensive tactics that separate other guys from other guys. You can say athleticism, speed, thinking, experience, you can say all of that stuff, which will come. But as far as the tactics, I don't know. Like forcing a guy to make it look like he fouled you, or you fouled him. You can take that with you. I'm not going to use any specific names because I don't want everybody to know that, but it's something you can steal from a veteran guy. Me: There are high expectations for you and Jordan and Julius going forward. What are one or two things you want to take from this year to build on? DR: I would say keeping that fire. Going into this year, everybody always talked about us three, this and that, and we haven't, I wouldn't say necessary, lived up to the hype. But it started in Summer League, when we had Summer League together, and everybody was like, 'oh, my God, these three guys,' or whatever. It's all hype. Just keeping that fire, so when the hype goes down, next year is a new year, and they'll be talking about somebody else, and then, that's we can come out of nowhere if we keep that edge we had going into this season and use it to our advantage. Me: How do you deal with the record? I bet you hadn't lost 20 games combined before. GameTime: D'Angelo Russell D'Angelo Russell talks about his rookie season with the Lakers and the kind of player that he wants to develop into. DR: Nobody wants to get used to losing, so every night, you feel like you have an opportunity to win. So every night you've got to put yourself in a position where you're giving yourself a chance to win. Every night it's a different game plan, different player, different coach, different refs. Everything's different. So you can't really prepare for it like people from the outside think you can. You've just got to keep that positive mentality. Like I said, it's new to me. Playing against Derrick Rose for the first time this year, he might do some things that I'm not expecting. But when I play against him another time, it might be something that I expect. So I use that as an advantage. Me: B-Scott sat you the last couple of minutes of the game the other night. How did you deal with that? DR: It was a tough game for me personally. But as a team, we found a way to get it down to the wire. I mean, Dirk was Dirk that night, and he made tough shots. But I didn't really look at it as everybody else looked at it, as far as 'why am I not on the floor,' this and that. I respect the Coach's call any day of the week. But I wasn't sure why, so I just didn't question it, necessarily. Me: Just generally with Byron -- not necessarily that one decision -- he's old school. I get it, 'cause I'm old myself. But are the lines of communication open between the two of you? DR: At this day and age, you kind of have a feel for what you did wrong. It might sound weird, but you don't know what to ask. So like, I turned the ball over. I know I turned the ball over and I'm coming out of the game. I'm not sure if that's why you're pulling me out, but I'm not sure what to ask. 'Cause I know I turned it over. There's nothing that you can possibly say that's going to bring that turnover back, or anything that I can possibly do. But it's like, I don't know what to ask. It's like, he wouldn't, I don't know, tell me if I don't ask. So that's where it's kind of a blur. Me: Is that just part of being a young guy -- not knowing? You don't know what you don't know? DR: That's the best way to put it. I don't know what I don't know. Kia Awards: D'Angelo Russell Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell is a nominee for the Kia Western Conference Rookie of the Month in December. Me: How has Kobe been this year -- as a guy, as a teammate? DR: First of all, you're going to always be starstruck, with a guy like that. Coming into this league, you can play with anybody, but when it's one of those older vets (that's) still around, I don't know, you just want to cope with them and get to know them and just be able to play on the court with them. That was great. But he's always coaching on the floor, if he's not playing. On the plane, you can talk to him about anything, and he'll try to give you the best perspective about it -- positive or negative. It's almost like he knows right. He's one of those guys that, when you come to a situation and you're not sure, you can say 'what would Kobe do?' That's a great guy to have around. Me: Do you now have a sense about the standards of this franchise, and the history, and the expectations on a player who plays here, through him? DR: I mean, growing up, my dad was a C Bags fan, and my brothers were Lakers fans. So the C Bags would always win, but the Lakers would always win. And you clearly, you couldn't really say who was the better team at that time, because they would win and then they would win. But you know that they were one of the top two teams that was always in the contender of winning. And that's what this whole franchise is all about -- no matter if it's a good win or an ugly win, everything's good. Me: What do you hope to accomplish with the second half of the season? You've got to earn your stripes. Nobody's going to give 'em to you. Nobody's going to feel bad for you if you don't. You get replaced in this league. So, try to find a way to stick. – Russell, on being an NBA rookie DR: I truly just want to finish out the games strong, finish out this year strong, and start to go in the right path of what kind of player I'm going to be. I know that's going to take multiple years, but just going down that right path. First impressions are almost everything, but in this league it's almost backwards. You can make a first impression and in four years be a player that nobody expected you to be. So I just kind of want to know, have that feeling. I don't want to go into the summer and not have a clue what type of player, who I am on the court. It really will influence what I have to work on. Me: What do you think those things are now? DR: Right now? Being patient, as far as on the floor. I try to make the home run play all the time, and in college, it got me in trouble, too. In college the gap (for making) errors, it was bigger. Here, it's way thinner. You try to thread the needle on passes, or gamble for a steal, and the team is almost automatically going to capitalize on it. So just being patient, not turning the ball over. NBA Rooks: D'Angelo Russell Here's a look at D'Angelo Russell, the number two overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, as he gets ready for the Lakers' season. Me: What type of player do you think you'll be when everything does become second nature to you? DR: I have no idea, but I've seen so many guys in this league go from, coming straight out of college, and then developing and getting some years under their belt, and you'd never expect it. John Wall, for example. He came into this league and he was lightning quick, and it got him into trouble a lot. But he developed an urgency of when to be quick and fast, and when not to be. So I just feel like it takes time. And I have no clue. I don't want to put a title on who I'm going to be.
What ..... LOL... you think Chris Paul or Harden are going to be a couple of his role models in that regard? Yikes! I think he's better than that, but it would prompt a similar reaction from me, if true. But thank god he has had a year with Kobe. Kobe had the swing through to pick up fouls but he did NOT tolerate the flopper's mentality. I remember his quote addressing it once. Paraphrasing .... Come on man, where's your balls? Had CP3 come to the Lakers, Kobe and him would have come to an understanding about that crap, being that it was Kobe's team.
Thing is, and this is what has been killing me about BS, Russell talks about getting experience playing against guys like Derrick Rose so the next time he sees them he won't be as taken by surprise. "Playing against Derrick Rose for the first time this year, he might do some things that I'm not expecting. But when I play against him another time, it might be something that I expect. So I use that as an advantage." EXACTLY! So why in the world is he coming off the bench, not getting experience against guys he will play against for years? Now if he gets to start next year he has to start the learning process all over. I don't believe the "he's not ready" excuse from BS, of course he's not ready, no one is initially but he'll get there a whole lot faster if he is playing against who he will be playing against for years.
Come to think of it no way would it be possible for DAR to become a hated flopper here on the Lakers. Sirron would hound him with his smiley's and special style of humor.
I like the mental part of his maturation process. As much as I hate Byron, sometimes you have to figure things out yourself.
We have Lou Williams on the team ... whose offensive game mainly ( well let's say about 50% of it) consists in tricking the refs thinking he got fouled
If he does it that much at least he's subtle enough to not make it obvious. No heliflopters and the higher rated for difficulty moves.
