D’Angelo Russell: Is His Rookie Year Tarnished?
Will D’Angelo Russell’s monumental mistake serve to overshadow the progress he’s made in his rookie year?
Let’s face it: Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has faced his fair share of adversity in his rookie year.
From his controversial selection with the second pick in the draft to his clashes with head coach Byron Scott to being benched midway through the season, the rook has had to overcome a number of obstacles.
However, nothing could’ve prepared him — or anyone else, for that matter — for the enormous backlash that came as a result of a controversial video he recorded of Nick Young discussing his infidelities being leaked to the public this week.
From Twitter warriors to media personalities to other professional athletes, everyone seemed to be weighing in on Russell’s massive transgression.
D'Angelo Russell lucky he ain't in a football locker room
— Terrance Knighton (@Coach_Knighton) March 30, 2016
Even worse was the reported isolation the rookie was experiencing from his own teammates and the fact that the internal tension spilled over into the team’s on-court performance, causing them to lose by 45 points to the Utah Jazz the next night.
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It’s an unfortunate turn for a team that was just starting to build a significant chemistry and a player who had made significant strides in delivering on the promise many have seen in him.
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Russell’s play has been tremendous since the All-Star break, as he has put together averages of 15.8 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting from the field and 38.2 percent shooting from three-point range, helping lead the Lakers to five wins in that span of time. It seemed as if he had finally started to prove himself worthy of his second overall selection and quiet rumblings that he should be traded or that the team should’ve taken Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor instead.
Sadly, all that has been lost in the wake of this controversy.
Russell is in a compromising position as a point guard: he has completely lost the support of the locker room. Furthermore, he’s managed to worsen the team’s public image and raise questions about the character of himself and his teammates.
Regardless of who was right or wrong, this rookie mistake broke the sacred bond and trust among a young team that was already struggling to build those things — and repairing such a rift isn’t going to happen overnight.
Despite his sincere and contrite apology and the fact that Young’s tenure with the Lakers isn’t expected to last much longer, the distrust will continue to linger over him and among his teammates.
In order to earn it back, he will have to show growth in both his on-court play and his off-court maturity and leadership. Both clearly are in question as a result of this incident, as comments on Russell’s behavior from head coach Byron Scott suggest:
D'Angelo's playful teenage nature is "at times," a problem, Byron said. Not as mature as Chris Paul + Kyrie Irving as rookies, Byron added.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) February 10, 2016
This controversy is going to be a cloud over Russell’s career for awhile and will likely overshadow all the progress he’s made in his rookie year.
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However, there’s a silver lining to every cloud, and hopefully this incident serves to help the young point guard toughen up, tighten up and mature into the leader that this team will need him to be.