Originally the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, D'Angelo Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets after just two seasons. At the time, it was an extremely surprising move, but it is no secret the Lakers are attempting to clear the necessary cap space to sign two max contract players like LeBron James and Paul George in 2018 free agency.
As Russell was off to a strong start to the 2017-18 NBA season before arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee, Lonzo Ball is now the Lakers' point guard of the future. While praising Ball and Kyle Kuzma, assistant coach Brian Shaw was caught dissing Russell's work ethic with former Orlando Magic teammate Dennis Scott according to Brian Lewis of New York Post:
“It looks like they work, though, huh?” Scott can be heard asking. Shaw replied, “Yeah, they do. They do. You know, like, last year we had D’Angelo. He was just bullsh—ing all the time and didn’t put it in.”
The next several seconds are inaudible, but Scott can be made out saying, “Somebody didn’t do their homework.”
With Shaw's comments, it provides a potential reason as to why the Lakers ultimately traded Russell after just two seasons. Despite the team still in their rebuilding process, President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka are looking to establish a winning culture in Los Angeles again.
As Russell is considered to have All-Star potential, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers made a calculated risk by trading him and Timofey Mozgov's four-year, $64 million deal in hopes of landing two superstars.
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