D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

Yeah, I'm not feeling this kid and I don't switch gears just because I'm supposed to get with the program. I've got to say I think the kid has some great skills but I don't really find his demeanor so attractive. Something about him I kind of find abrasive.

I liked Okafor's quiet confidence and found it very calming. I also found the idea of him commanding double teams in the post to be exactly what I felt we needed going forward for the next decade.

I still think we blew this one. I won't be bummed altogether though unless we miss out on LMA. There aren't any other bigs that I want for max out there right now that we can actually get. I don't want Love or Monroe for that kind of money. I don't want Love at all actually.

I find this whole . . . "There are so many bigs out there in FA" to be hogwash. There are no actual centers except for Gasol who isn't coming, Chandler who is at the end of his career, and Jordan who is a one way player who can't shoot a free throw.

Guards seem to be a dime a dozen and are nowhere nearly as rare as a true Center who has a dominant post game.

 

Sorry but I wish there was a dislike button for me on this one.

 

I'm as bummed as you are LJ and I'm not saying "hey get on the Russell Bandwagon!"

But what I'm trying to do is get pumped up about another direction. If Mitch made this pick it's because he sees a star in him and I can't disagree with him because he's the only one of us who saw the kid up close. Mitch made a point to say that Okafor didn't measure up to the big men with their jerseys retired here... He made a point to compare him to West, Goodrich, and Magic though... That's got to mean something. I agree we should have gone with Okafor, but now we can't really dwell on it anymore.

 

I kept thinking about all the holes we would need to plug if we took Okafor. While I was happy with him, I think it is easier to build a quality roster quckly with Russell. And no one denies Russell has a higher ceiling.

 

From afar I don't see that Okafor has a lower ceiling. Maybe, but not definitely. If Okafor's ceiling is Duncan and Russell's is Curry... Isn't Duncan better? I'm more comfortable convincing myself that Okafor is in fact NOT Duncan and that Mitch chose not to pick him because he's more Al Jefferson than Duncan. I need that to be true.

The other thing is, unless Russell starts day one then we have just as many holes to fill now than we'd have with Okafor, right?

 

Real, you are the best my friend. Yeah, I don't mean to come in here and be the resident Eeyore, but I'm pretty bummed and this is my Lakers' therapy to come in and express how I feel, whether good or bad about all things in my Lakers obsession.

I can't jump on the party train yet. And I have to say, what Mitch said and how it went down for Okafor also kind of bums me out. This whole thing about him not being great or as great as Russell or as great as the greats who are up in the rafters seems pretty freaking harsh. The kid is 19 years old and I don't like the way he got thrown under the bus first by ESPN then by us. All of the rad things he said about this franchise, all of the hype he was feeling about coming here . . . I feel bad for him and I think he truly valued the Lakers franchise and it's legacy of winning. I don't get any of the same type of feeling about Russell. I feel like he could have gone to Philly and been just fine. I don't think he gets the Lakers really. I think he's happy that he got picked here and went number two but I don't feel like he has the same kind of reverence and appreciation that Okafor did. To put it in a crude way, I feel like I'm watching some girl that I like pick the wrong guy. It's kind of painful to watch.