D'Angelo Russell has emerged as the Los Angeles Lakers' most trusted floor general this season. However, that wasn't the case last season, with head coach Darvin Ham benching him in the Western Conference Finals in favor of veteran point guard Dennis Schroder, now with the Brooklyn Nets.

Ham had a prior relationship with Schroder, having coached him for five years with the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018. When speaking about his resurgence, Russell recently took a shot at his former teammate for how things played out last season, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

“His relationship with Darvin is the reason I couldn't have a relationship with Darvin,” he said of Schroder. “When I was struggling, I would've been able to come to the coach and say, ‘Bro, this is what we should do. Like, I can help you.' Instead, there was no dialogue. … I just accepted it.”

“And we got swept and I'm here and he's not. And I like our chances.”

Russell was reportedly not enthused about re-signing with the Lakers last offseason, questioning the team's commitment to him as their point guard. However, he agreed to return after Schroder signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors.

Schroder, who has since been traded to the Nets, clapped back at Russell's comments about their time with the Lakers.

“I don't understand it. But at the end of the day, it just shows off immaturity,” he told the New York Post's Brian Lewis. “You're not really mature if you’re just keeping somebody's name in his mouth and just running it. I don't understand.”

Russell's feelings about Schroder were not a secret before his recent comments. The former teammates cursed at each other during an on-court exchange earlier this season.

Both players have been doing well since their split. Russell is in the midst of a career year, averaging 17.8 points and 6.2 assists while shooting a career-best 42.2 percent from three.

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Ham responded to his point guard's comments about their relationship, saying they are “in a great place,” per the Athletic's Jovan Buha.

“We have great conversations,” Ham said. “Great text exchanges after games. During the game our in-game conversations. … It’s tough. That’s why the phrase is called ‘building a relationship.’”

“It doesn’t hit the ground running all the time smooth. Trying to figure things out on the fly. And yeah, Dennis is someone I love and care about. Dennis is a helluva player. But just trying to learn Lo on the fly and figure things out.”

Meanwhile, Schroder has played his best basketball of the season after joining Brooklyn at the deadline. The 30-year-old has averaged 14.5 points and 5.7 assists on 46.3 percent shooting over 15 appearances with the Nets. He ranks fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage (47.9) among 133 players averaging over four attempts per game during that span.