D'Angelo Russell throws major shade at Lakers' culture while praising Nets
D'Angelo Russell feels otherwise.
The current Mavericks guard took a jab at the Lakers' culture during his early years with the team while praising how much his time in Brooklyn shaped him as a player whose maturity was questioned early in his career.
Advertisement
3 Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell celebrates after hitting a 3-point shot during the second half of a game against the Nets on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
AP
Russell spent two stints with the Lakers, the first after being drafted second overall by the team in 2015. He lasted just two years, in which Los Angeles went a combined 45-99 under coaches Byron Scott and Luke Walton, before being traded to the Nets for Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez.
He appeared to blame his lack of success during those seasons on the Lakers not teaching him what it meant to be a pro.
Advertisement
'The organization of Brooklyn is different,' Russell said while speaking with Dwyane Wade on the Wy Network on Tuesday. 'It's unlike any other. The performance, team, coach — everything about Brooklyn is different than what you would expect. And I've been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same.'
3 D'Angelo Russell speaks with
Dwyane Wade.
@wynetwork/X
The former Montverde star admitted that he used to approach the game — when he was 19 and 20 years old — in a way that was nonchalant. That changed when he got to the Nets, playing two seasons under coach Kenny Atkinson.
Advertisement
Russell made his lone All-Star team in Brooklyn during the 2018-19 season as he averaged 21.1 points and seven assists. The Nets went 42-40 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15.
'Then I got to Brooklyn, where it's all structure, and it taught me how to be a professional,' Russell said, stressing the word professional. 'I always approached the game to where I was nonchalant, and I felt like I could just wing it. They taught me how to be a professional, how to sleep, how to eat, how to recover.'
3 Nets guard D'Angelo Russell reacts after he sinks a game-winning
3-pointer during a 2018 game.
Anthony J Causi
He is about to start his 11th season in the league, which includes second stints with the Nets and Lakers.
Advertisement
Russell signed a two-year, $11.6 million contract with the Mavericks in the offseason and joins a team that has Anthony Davis and No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg.
'That's why I'm still playing to this day,' he said of his time with the Nets. 'I'm not a guy that's athletic, I had to take care of my body, I had to recover, I had to eat the best way. I couldn't just show up. And that's what Brooklyn really taught me.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
19 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Connecticut Sun acquire Aaliyah Edwards from Washington Mystics in exchange for Jacy Sheldon
During her junior year at UConn, Edwards averaged a double-double (18.3 points, 11 rebounds). In her senior year with the Huskies, she was named a WBCA All-American after UConn made the Final Four. Edwards represented her home country of Canada at the Olympics in 2020 and 2024. 'Bringing Aaliyah to the Connecticut Sun is more than just a roster move; it's a statement about where we're headed as a franchise,' Sun general manager Morgan Tuck said in a statement. 'Aaliyah is a transformational talent with the mind-set and drive that aligns with our vision of building a championship culture.' Sheldon, selected fifth overall by Dallas in 2024, joined the Sun as part of a four-team trade in February. The Ohio State product averaged 7.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2 assists in 28 games (17 starts) with Connecticut this season. Advertisement 'We are incredibly grateful for everything Jacy has given to the Connecticut Sun,' Tuck said in the statement. 'She brought passion, professionalism, and heart to this organization every time she stepped on the court, and her impact was felt far beyond the box score.' The Sun's future is up in the air, as the Mohegan Tribe, which owns the team, is exploring 'all options to strategically invest in the team.' Advertisement That exploration includes a bid from Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, who But it seems the WNBA may not want to approve the bid because of Pagliuca's plans to relocate the team. After the Globe broke the news of Pagliuca's bid, the WNBA issued a statement saying 'relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.' Related : In addition, Marc Lasry, a former Milwaukee Bucks owner, stepped in with a competing bid. Lasry is a Connecticut native and has eyes on keeping the Sun in the state by moving the team to Hartford, where it would play at the PeoplesBank Arena (capacity 15,684 for basketball). Emma Healy can be reached at
NBC Sports
21 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Austin Reaves likely looking at $30+ million a season in free agency next summer
Austin Reaves is on arguably the best contract in the NBA. The 20-point-a-game scorer last season for the Lakers will make $13.9 million — less than the full midlevel exception — this season, the third year of his four-year, $53.8 million contract. Next summer, Reaves is expected to use his player option to become a free agent — and the man is going to get paid. Several executives told ESPN's Tim Bontemps to expect a deal that averages more than $30 million a season. I think he will get $30 [million] plus,' one executive told ESPN, echoing multiple front office sources who were asked about the next deal Reaves could command. Those executives also echoed the idea that Reaves will re-sign with the Lakers — he is loyal, Los Angeles needs him as the No. 2 shot creator next to Luka Doncic, and he's a fan favorite so the backlash of letting him walk would be ugly. Reaves' ability to shoot the rock (37.7% on 3-pointers last season, 39.9% on catch-and-shoot attempts), play off the ball or on, makes him an ideal fit next to Doncic. However, there are questions that this season is going to answer about Reaves and his fit with the team. One is the playoffs, where Reaves struggled against the athletic Timberwolves defense, scoring 16.2 points and 3.6 assists per game while shooting just 41.1% overall and 31.9% from beyond the arc — now he needs to prove that was a fluke. While he's improved on that end, Reaves remains a minus defender, which is tough to put next to Doncic for long stretches (especially in the playoffs). That said, look at the guards making around $30 million a season right now — Jalen Suggs, Tyler Herro, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray — and Reaves slots in nicely with that group. A deal in the four-year, $120 million range sounds about right. If the Lakers don't want to pay it, other teams will. But the Lakers will pay it. Expect Los Angeles and Reaves to work out a deal, although he could be a late official signing as the Lakers use their expected cap space (depending on what happens with LeBron James' future with the team) to build out the roster they want around Doncic, then use their Bird rights to re-sign Reaves. That said, the deal will get done.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
‘Sooner than later': ESPN's Tim Legler sees likely superstar in Houston's Amen Thompson
'He's going to be a superstar in this league, I believe it,' ESPN's Tim Legler says of rising Rockets star Amen Thompson. 'And he's going to get there sooner than later.' Earlier this spring, the Houston Rockets didn't win the decisive Game 7 of their best-of-seven, first-round playoff series versus the Golden State Warriors. But for a relatively young team featuring numerous high draft picks from recent years, the Rockets did learn a lot about what they're made of. Specifically, as ESPN analyst Tim Legler pointed out on the ALL NBA Podcast, they learned quite a bit about rising star Amen Thompson. Legler's observations: I have such an indelible memory of the end of the year, that Game 7 against Golden State. The fact that Amen Thompson was more comfortable than any player on the floor, practically, outside of (Steph) Curry and (Jimmy) Butler, said a lot to me. He did everything in that game, with all that pressure. He's going to be a superstar in this league, I believe it. And he's going to get there sooner than later. To Legler's point, Thompson was magnificent in Game 7. In 37 minutes, the 22-year-old finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%) while also grabbing 9 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists. After a relatively slow start to the playoffs, perhaps due to some jitters in his first career appearance, Thompson was a force over the final four games — averaging 20.0 points (54.7% FG), 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks. The versatile 6-foot-7 guard/forward was also dynamic on defense, as shown in the NBA All-Defensive First Team honor that Thompson received after the season. While much of the offseason talk in Houston has surrounded the arrival of Kevin Durant, it's worth emphasizing that he's not the only star player on the 2025-26 Rockets. Big man Alperen Sengun was an All-Star last season, and it's very possible that Thompson could be joining that tier in the near future. Best of all, both are 23 or younger, which gives them ample room to continue getting better over the months and years ahead. More: As sophomore on NBA's All-Defensive First Team, Amen Thompson is in elite company
