D’Angelo Russell had a strong performance in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 101-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of their first round series. Ahead of Game 3, he expressed confidence in an interview with Ros Gold-Onwude of SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Russell’s play did not back up his comments as he failed to score for the first time in 30 career postseason games. The ninth-year guard shot 0-7 from the field and 0-6 from three-point range. Late in the fourth quarter, with the game seemingly out of reach, he did not join teammates in the huddle during a timeout.
ESPN analyst Jay Williams ripped Russell for what he deemed quitting on the team. Speaking on Get Up, the 2002 National College Player of the Year stated:
You would think that for a guy that talks this way that he would back it up with his defensive play, but to me, his ceiling is nowhere close to where his floor needs to be because his floor is extremely low.
His ceiling is high, but not knowing what you’re going to get defensively from a guy like D’Lo – for him to be checked out, in the game, that way – I don’t want him on my roster. I don’t want him to be a part of my team because I want everybody pulling in the same direction.
Williams later added:
It doesn’t matter what [he says]. To me, that’s a sign of somebody that is checked out of what we’re trying to accomplish. Coach K used to always talk about this and it was a line that really stood out in my life – when you start thinking about you, you’re being selfish because you’re not thinking about we, you’re not thinking about us.
And at this moment, while D’Lo is on his phone or eating snacks, he’s only thinking about D’Lo. He’s not thinking about the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s not thinking about them being in the gauntlet, them being in the trenches. He’s quitting on his teammates.
Check out Jay Williams’ full comments on D’Angelo Russell below:
D’Angelo Russell likely to turn down his player option, per Brian Windhorst
D’Angelo Russell signed a two-year, $36 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason. The deal includes an $18.7 million player option for the 2024-25 season. Speaking on The Hoop Collective podcast, Brian Windhorst claimed that it is likely that he declines the option and enters free agency, stating (at the 40:00 mark):
It’s likely that D’Angelo Russell is going to opt out of his contract because the Lakers gave him a one-year with a player option and I would say it’s likely he’s going to opt out of that.
Russell had a strong regular season despite having his role fluctuate early on. He averaged 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field, 41.5% from three-point range and 82.8% from the free-throw line.
His numbers are down almost across the board through three postseason games. The one-time All-Star is averaging just 12.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.0 spg and 0.3 bpg while shooting 32.6% from the field and 30.8% from three-point range. He has yet to get to the free-throw line. It is unclear how much his postseason struggles would affect his market, if he hits free agency.
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