D'Angelo Russell Discussion: Adopting A Professional Attitude

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

  1. Khmrp

    Khmrp - Lakers Legend -

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    I have no preceeding thoughts on russell when drafted as a player, i do however have high expectations for a #2 pick regardless of what history has shown in regards to those who have been drafted #2
     
  2. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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    russell's public persona just makes it easy to take him apart, i think. his game has been quite good considering his age and experience. quite good. he just doesn't look like a superstar. big deal, not many folks are. he's definitely the most "proven" of all the young talent on the roster, which is why teams are always calling about him. luckily, the FO isn't run by the fanbase.
     
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  3. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    I didn't like the pick because I didn't think Russell had the athleticism to really get to the spots he needed to in the NBA. I've been about 1/4 right and 3/4 wrong on him. I think his lack of athleticism is an issue, but not as much as I thought it would be. He's been able to get to his spots enough, but it has shown up on occasion (some ugly fast breaks going to the rim). I've come around on him as a high upside player, but my problem with him now is almost completely mental. He doesn't lock in and he has an attitude that isn't really conducive for steady improvement. When he makes a mistake, he's quick to say he made the mistake, but he's not quick to change what caused the mistake. How many times this year did he make the same stupid errors over and over again? It's the hallmark of immaturity and I hate it, but I understand if he ever figured it out he'd be a very productive player.

    I'm excited about the potential of him playing SG/PG instead of the other way around. He's going to play a freer game where he's not so worried about what everyone else is doing. Fox or Ball or Fultz will really help open his game up.
     
  4. KRL

    KRL - Lakers 6th Man -

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    ^
    Agreed with you 1000%

    I'm the first to want to ship his a** out but I also do recognize his potential to be a great fit next to Ball as a killer 3 pt shooter. I will give DLo credit when his stroke is on the kid can hit 5-10 3's easy. His stroke is pretty effortless. Having seen enough of Ball's ability to attack and kick ... I am looking forward to seeing a DAR and Ball backcourt
     
  5. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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    some pretty smart folks have the ball/russell roles reversed, and i agree with them. ball's the sg/pg, and russell's the pg/sg.

    and i still think that ball looked great in college surrounded by 4 shooters and russell's been hamstrung by playing with nobody who can shoot other than himself. hell, when he had just nick young he made plenty of noise as a distributor.

    his mental approach is frustrating, but his talents far outstrip anybody else we've got (or most teams have). and he's not "young jr smith" problematic.

    laker fans are just spoiled. not sure what's going to happen when ball isn't a kidd/curry hybrid. god help him and lavar.
     
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  6. KRL

    KRL - Lakers 6th Man -

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    Huh what? You realize part of the reason myself and others have been critical of DAR is that he isn't a PG!

    I'm excited to see Ball take over as the primary PG and let DAR have less responsibilities other than to shoot and play some D.

    Why do you think Walton experimented with DAR at SG in the final 10-15 games ?
     
  7. Jaguar

    Jaguar - Lakers 6th Man -

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    Is this the year DLO unleashes "bully ball" as he termed it last summer? Hopefully he can especially if Ball is drafted at #2.
     
  8. JLaker17

    JLaker17 - Lakers Starter -

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    Regardless of who we draft, I hope to see Russell on the team next year. I think his upside is worth more than anything we would get for him in a trade.
     
  9. LTLakerFan

    LTLakerFan - Lakers Legend -

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  10. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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    i realize it; i just see it as misguided. again, if either player is more suited to play off the ball, it is...ironically...ball.
     
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  11. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    Eh. They'll each have ball handling duties, but it'll just be dependent on the other's strengths and what the defense is giving you. I've given plenty of examples where Ball would be great off-the-ball for D'Angelo (namely spacing and cutting which Ball does very well).

    But I still would want Ball bringing the ball up more often and Russell coming off of screens more often. Either way, the point is to bring some of the responsibility for creating off of Russell so he can play an easier game.
     
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  12. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

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    i think the theory of ball is a great fit next to russell, actually. i think fox has a great chance at being a better nba player than ball, but i think his fit next to russell is worse, which is why i'm not investing heavily in that particular pre-draft debate. why? fox won't be able to play off the ball. why would that matter to me if i thought russell needed to be off the ball...

    i just won't let what i think are bs arguments against russell playing pg slide.

    my personal opinion is that the team experimented with it just to keep options open, both in terms of what to do with clarkson and whom to chase in FA. it was less about russell "can't play pg" than it was about "can he play sg?" i think they already know he can play pg.
     
  13. therealdeal

    therealdeal Moderator Staff Member

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    We're not going to really agree on it, but I think it was "is he better playing SG?" which I think he is. The implication is more important than the actual product because it means less responsibility for a kid who clearly has struggled with the weight of carrying the other guys up the floor. Heck, Russell himself said it was hard at times trying to figure out when to pass and when to shoot. Now he just gets to just shoot first and ask questions later and yes I worded it that way on purpose.

    It's sort of semantics though. Both players will play a lot with the ball in their hands and both will play off the ball too. I think we definitely agree though that of the guards, Ball seems the nicest fit. Smith and Fox need the ball more, Fultz is Russell with some more athleticism and less shooting and we don't need two Russells, and Monk is a SG in a PG body.
     
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  14. Khmrp

    Khmrp - Lakers Legend -

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    If goal is to have dlo play more off ball why cant fox be considered? As some have pointed out (other forums), everyone knows he couldnt shoot but yet he couldnt be stopped getting into the paint, just like how we all say randle cant go right but he still get his ableit not as efficient as we'd like. This isnt an argument to take fox, just saying we need to draft bpa at 2 not always best fitting, whos to say Fox can become a passable shooter? Yea ball shot 41% from 3s in college but so did Russell and he hasn't surpassed 36% (this is min i considered to be a good 3pt shooter) from 3s as a pro yet
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2017
  15. KareemtheGreat33

    KareemtheGreat33 - Lakers MVP -

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    The problem I think is not on the basketball court but off it if the whispers are true, the LA nightlife is detrimental to his career, too much of a Nick Young acolyte, just like JC.
     
  16. KRL

    KRL - Lakers 6th Man -

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    Yup. I haven't mentioned this but JC is a bad influence on DAR.

    Young I don't need to say anything about
     
  17. KareemtheGreat33

    KareemtheGreat33 - Lakers MVP -

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    so trade them both for PG? lol
     
  18. KRL

    KRL - Lakers 6th Man -

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    JC is in all my trade scenarios
     
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  19. KareemtheGreat33

    KareemtheGreat33 - Lakers MVP -

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    You would notice that Magic and Pelinka, keep on harping on character and work ethic, when ask about their draft prospects. There is something there, you don't see Randle or BI on TMZ preening, acting like tossers.
     
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  20. KRL

    KRL - Lakers 6th Man -

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    Yup I noticed. DAR and JC I hope have enough common sense to know they're on thin ice.

    That's the one thing I like BI, no extra TMZ coverage.
     

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