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D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by The Original 81, Jun 25, 2015.

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Punk-101 - Lakers Starter -

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Nah, Kobe's selfish clown-show style of play on his farewell tour (along with Byron's empowering him to continue to do so) isn't negatively affecting our young players?

Pent-up frustration and resentment without the power to do anything to change the source of those feelings is a VERY bad thing.

Two things usually follow:
internalize- self doubt, loss of confidence
externalize- passive aggressive behavior

Russell's showing both.

Last edited: Dec 9, 2015

Punk-101, Dec 9, 2015

#2521

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ElginTheGreat - Lakers MVP -

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That video is hilarious.

On a sad note, we absolutely won't be seeing Russell playing for the next week or so.

This won't end well.

ElginTheGreat, Dec 9, 2015

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Weezy Moderator Staff Member

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I actually don't think Kobe would care about Russ doing this. I could see him laughing about it, and respecting the kid's guts, as I'm sure Kobe did stuff like this when he was that age, plus nothing seems to bother Kobe right now. I can see B0ron being mad about this because that's what he does, but what's he gonna do. He's already benched the kid, he won't give him DNPs, that really would get him fired.

Weezy, Dec 9, 2015

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LaVarBallsDad - Lakers Legend -

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ElginTheGreat said: ↑

That video is hilarious.

On a sad note, we absolutely won't be seeing Russell playing for the next week or so.

This won't end well.
Click to expand...

Won't end well for Byron. Russell isn't going nowhere for the considerable future and Byron won't be here next year.

LaVarBallsDad, Dec 9, 2015

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ElginTheGreat - Lakers MVP -

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Yeah. I was joking about that.

ElginTheGreat, Dec 9, 2015

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I feel like that video is going to get blown out of proportion.

alam1108, Dec 9, 2015

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LaVarBallsDad - Lakers Legend -

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ElginTheGreat said: ↑

Yeah. I was joking about that.
Click to expand...

I know. This season just makes me sick to my stomach.

LaVarBallsDad, Dec 9, 2015

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alam1108 said: ↑

I feel like that video is going to get blown out of proportion.
Click to expand...

ESPN salivating at what kind of headlines they are going to throw out there. The TMZ of the sports world.

VinMillerHearn24, Dec 9, 2015

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Weezy Moderator Staff Member

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Some pretty interesting stuff in this article.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/a...ell-struggling-to-find-his-way-192720707.html

Amid Kobe farewell tour, No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell struggling to find his way

Yahoo SportsBy Michael LeeDec 8, 2015 2:27 PM

D’Angelo Russell processed the question for just enough time to flush it, staring back at the inquisitor with silence for roughly five seconds. No words were going to fully express the confusion or frustration he was feeling. So when someone wanted to know what exactly Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott told him he needed to do to earn Scott's trust, Russell had no words.

"I'm not trying to show him anything," Russell recently said. "I'm really trying to show myself and my teammates that I belong out there, not the coach. Because they're looking to me for the play, not past me to him for the play. It's a growing experience."

Before Scott removed him from the starting lineup Monday night and once again asked the second overall pick of last June's draft to watch the conclusion of a loss, Russell had been reduced to sideshow status in the grand Kobe Bryant farewell tour.

The Lakers are in an awkward period as the franchise undergoes a necessary rebuild while paying respects to an all-time great, meaning Russell's personal development has been deferred for a year to allow Bryant to go out on his own terms.

"Can't do nothing about it. Just be a fan. Every time you watch, just be a fan and observe his every move," Russell said of Bryant. "He's our Michael Jordan. In my era. He still makes it look easy. You can say he's struggling, missing shots, but he still makes it look easy. When a guy like him says, 'That's a great call.' You're like, 'Yeah. That was a great call.' He knows his stuff."

With his resistance to analytics and the elevation of the 3-point shot, Scott is often characterized as a coach so old-school that he did homework on stone tablets. But Scott hasn't always been the type to make young players undergo some initiation process, having already coached Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving as both won Rookie of the Year awards. A member of the Cleveland Cavaliers during Irving's rookie season noted that Scott gave Irving the freedom to stumble and sparkle. "He let him go," the player said of Scott’s handling of Irving. "That sort of makes you wonder what's really going on [with Russell].”

Scott denied that he has taken a different approach to coaching Russell as opposed to Paul or Irving but made it clear that they are just different players. "I think both of those guys were probably more mature and a little bit further ahead from where D.A. is right now," Scott said. "He still has a way to go. Those guys were a bit more polished when they got in the league, so it wasn't much I had to do with them. Just give them the ball and say, 'Do this and that and this.' This kid, I'm going to have to start from scratch pretty much. But I still think he's going to be a pretty damn good player."

Russell lacks the lateral quickness to turn corners and that explosive first step to just blow by opponents, limitations that contribute to his struggles on defense. He also hasn't shown enough in the first few weeks of the regular season, preseason or even summer league to suggest that he will match the success of Paul or Irving, perennial all-stars at their positions. But he was taken No. 2 with the hope that he would at least come close, especially as the Lakers prepare for life without Bryant. Scott's decision to sit Russell late in games is confounding even for some members of the Lakers’ front office who were swayed to bypass Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor because Scott favored the flashy point guard from Ohio State, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The season already is lost for a franchise that desperately needs to hold on to its top-three protected first-round pick, and Russell would like the chance to find some solutions on the floor.

"It's real tough trying to make everybody happy as a young point guard. It's even tougher because you're not really getting an opportunity to learn from your mistakes," Russell said. "Coach is making his decisions, and I just ride with it."

Russell felt that he started improving and gaining some confidence in the games leading up to Scott replacing him and second-year forward Julius Randle in the starting lineup Monday night with Lou Williams and Larry Nance Jr.Russell finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting with two assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes in the Lakers’ 102-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Scott plans to re-evaluate the starting lineup and rotations in five to 10 games, but Russell's immediate objective is learning how to balance his instincts to score with the need to share.

"Point guard position, you've got to feed everybody and try to feed yourself. So that's the toughest thing," he said, adding that at times he gets in his "own selfish ways.”

“You've got Kobe demanding the ball and you've got [Randle] needing a touch, big man in the middle [Roy Hibbert] needing a touch, [Jordan Clarkson],” Russell said. “Very hard."

Russell is a late bloomer who last came off the bench when he was a high school sophomore. That's when he left his hometown of Louisville to transfer to Montverde Academy, a prep school in Central Florida led by Irving's former high school coach, Kevin Boyle. Russell remains confident in his playmaking talents, as evidenced by his fearlessness in attempting the highlight pass. In an otherwise embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Russell uncorked a no-look curveball that weaved through three defenders, right into the hands of Randle.

"I been doing that, man, I can do that," Russell said. "People got to put me in a position to do that, I can't force it. I rarely have an opportunity to do that, to showcase it because we're not playing good basketball, losing as well. Even though we’re struggling, we know what we've got to do. Got to be the same player."

While explaining how he developed the vision and flare to make those spectacular passes, Russell provided an answer that could help him navigate through his rookie predicament.

"Growing up in the ghetto, man, you figure out little things that a lot of people don't get an opportunity to figure it out," Russell said. "I'm trying to figure things out without looking like I'm forcing it."
Click to expand...

Weezy, Dec 9, 2015

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SamsonMiodek - Lakers 6th Man -

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People got to put me in a position to do that, I can't force it. I rarely have an opportunity to do that, to showcase it because we're not playing good basketball, losing as well. Even though we’re struggling, we know what we've got to do. Got to be the same player
Click to expand...

I love this quote, a tot of interesting stuff generally, thanks for posting.

It has become more than clear that most of our players are done with you know who(m?). Time for him to enjoy his gf or whatever he wishes somewhere far away. I'm sure the FO also sees it and would be shocked if he lasts till the end of the season

SamsonMiodek, Dec 9, 2015

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ElginTheGreat - Lakers MVP -

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RandleROFY said: ↑

I know. This season just makes me sick to my stomach.
Click to expand...

Me too man. This has been really rough.

ElginTheGreat, Dec 9, 2015

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therealdeal said: ↑

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It's clear to me he was trying to throw shade and clown Kobe. What a punk move. Who among us hasn't had a boss and co-worker we don't like? But you man up, keep your mouth shut and quietly go about your business. Is BOron an idiot? Absolutely. Is Kobe at times a offensive flow killer? Yes. But you don't handle it like that. Personally I don't like this kid, but I hold my nose because he wears the P&G. He has alot of growing up to do.

Last edited: Dec 9, 2015

CarolinaLakerFan, Dec 9, 2015

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revgen - Lakers 6th Man -

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He's just having fun. If he really wanted to imitate a Kobe airball, the shot would have been missed short, not long.

revgen, Dec 9, 2015

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CarolinaLakerFan said: ↑

It's clear to me he was trying to throw shade and clown Kobe. What a punk move. Who among us hasn't had a boss and co-worker we don't like? But you man up, keep your mouth shut and quietly go about your business. Is BOron an idiot? Absolutely. Is Kobe at times a offensive flow killer? Yes. But you don't handle it like that. Personally I don't like this kid, but I hold my nose because he wears the P&G. He has alot of growing up to do.
Click to expand...

While I agree to an extent, I bet there are thousands of people who at 19 have jokingly imitated their boss/co-worker privately, his life just has way more cameras.

Kou, Dec 9, 2015

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To me that is a bit too much. He has not proven enough in this league to act like that. But still prefer this instead of something like Okafor is doing ...

DjBelvedere, Dec 9, 2015

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He's 19 years old ppl. Kobe is probably laughing along with him. Everyone is too tense now a days. Even us fans

OmarE, Dec 9, 2015

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Have people really never joked around with friends and never made fun of their mannerisms with them?

pop pop, Dec 9, 2015

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I think that vid is gonna get blown out of proportion; if it hasn't already...

gill, Dec 9, 2015

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therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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I don't have a problem with it because I know he and Kobe like each other. If this was Dwight it's coming from a place of malice, but this is just ribbing.

I mean Kobe knows that's exactly what he's doing right now. Is Russell wrong? No. I think Kobe would laugh along with that. (which I guess is indicative of how far Kobe has fallen at this point in his career).

therealdeal, Dec 9, 2015

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abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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1. absolutely NOT a good thing to do. no way to spin it positively, imo. that's crap.
2. doesn't matter if it's 100% true.
3. it's not going to be blown out of proportion, because it's kind of huge.
4. I'm guessing kobe's not laughing, even if he tells the media he did.

I guess this comes with drafting 19 year olds. I understand his frustration; I don't understand his entitlement.

abeer3, Dec 9, 2015

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