You think eliminating his former Los Angeles Lakers club from playoff contention felt good for Brooklyn Nets guard D'Angelo Russell? I'm sure it did, but Russell downplayed it when asked about it after the Nets' 111-106 win over the Lakers on Friday night:
“Sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, we’re not playing them,” Russell said, according to ClutchPoints' Tomer Azarly. “We’re not competing against them for seeding, so the win is good enough.”
#Nets’ D’Angelo Russell on eliminating the #Lakers from playoff contention – “I mean it sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, we’re not playing them, we’re not competing against them for seeding, so just the win is good enough.” pic.twitter.com/ktUltww2mT
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 23, 2019
Russell dropped 21 points, 13 assists and three steals while making eight of his 20 field goal attempts and going 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the win.
Remember: Russell was originally drafted by the Lakers with the No. 2 overall pick back in 2015, but he played just two seasons in Los Angeles before the franchise decided it wanted to go in another direction.
The Lakers agreed to trade Russell to the Nets in 2017 and then took Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick, and it seems safe to say that the move has backfired up until this point.
While Ball has barely even been on the floor for LA due to injuries and has only shown flashes when he has been healthy, Russell seems to be on his way to earning a max contract this summer while averaging 20.7 points, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season.
Plus, Russell's Nets are probably going to the playoffs. The Lakers, on the other hand, will be watching the postseason from their couches.
Follow Us
Subscribe