Following a busy offseason and consequently busier NBA Draft, Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson introduced his newest talent, Lonzo Ball, but not before taking a parting shot at D'Angelo Russell when talking about his trade.
“I'm going to do what it takes to get the right players in here with the right mindset,” said Johnson on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. “D'Angelo (Russell) is an excellent player. He has the talent to be an All-Star. We want to thank him for what he did for us, but what I needed was a leader. I needed somebody that also can make the other players better and also (somebody) that players want to play with.”
Russell had often been criticized for his lack of consistency and on-and-off performances through his first few years in Los Angeles. He was ultimately traded along with Timofey Mozgov for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft, Utah's Kyle Kuzma.
At 6-foot-5, the Ohio State point guard sometimes showed glimpses of his passing ability, but not enough to warrant consistency at the position. Instead, the Lakers opted to draft an even taller point guard in the 6-foot-6 Ball, who has shown through his lone season at UCLA to be a natural at the position.
“He (Ball) gives you a scoring pass,” said Johnson. “That's the key. Not just a pass. One that you can score. All our players are gonna be excited.”
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