In wake of the decision last week to move guard D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets after two seasons, Magic Johnson, who is currently the Los Angeles Lakers' president of basketball operations, made it clear that the former second overall pick didn't reach the organization's expectations as a leader.
During his introductory press conference with the Nets on Monday morning, Russell issued back a stern response to Johnson's direct criticism of him.
From Malika Andrews of the New York Times.
D'Angelo Russell on Magic Johnson's parting comments: "I'm just excited to be here…it's the past, so it's irrelevant, honestly." pic.twitter.com/GvTSR3EBF4
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 26, 2017
The 21-year-old clearly didn't take these comments lightly as he looks to turn the page on his brief NBA career. Russell had hoped to carry the torch from Kobe Bryant as the next face of the franchise, but he struggled to show progress in that area last year despite improvement to his overall game.
During Russell's tenure with the Lakers, there were numerous questions about his maturity level, leadership skills, and work ethic. All of this contributed to the team's willingness to deal him away in a move primarily made to provide salary cap relief next season so that LA can possibly acquire big-name superstars in free agency.
That said, Russell now has an opportunity with the Nets to achieve all that he couldn't in his short stay in Los Angeles by becoming the face of their franchise over the next several years.
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