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During his second run with the LA Lakers, D'Angelo Russell's performances have been up-and-down. After being considered a trade piece for most of the year, he has grown into one of the team's key players. During a recent interview, he opened up on a wrinkle early in his return.
If a team is going to reach its full potential, there needs to be a healthy relationship between the players and coach. According to D'Angelo Russell, that wasn't the case when got back to the Lakers.
The former All-Star touched on how his relationship with Darvin Ham was impacted by the presence of Dennis Schroder.
"His relationship with Darvin is the reason I couldn't have a relationship with Darvin," Russell said.
"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."
D'Angelo Russell was the Lakers' starting point guard for months after coming over at the trade deadline.
However, Ham eventually benched him for Schroder during the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. That summer, both players became free agents. Russell got a new deal in LA, while Schroder departed for the Toronto Raptors.
D'Angelo Russell is thriving for LA Lakers as they battle for playoff spot
Seeing how things have played out for each player, the LA Lakers made the right move by choosing D'Angelo Russell over Dennis Schroder. Since the trade deadline, the veteran guard has raised his level of play significantly.
After making the conference finals last season, the Lakers entered this year looking to contend. However, that has not been the case. As we approach the final stretch of the regular season, they are clinging on to a spot in the play-in tournament. LA is ninth with a 36-30 record in an air-tight Western Conference.
As the Lakers fight to secure a postseason spot, Russell has put on an array of impressive performances. Over the weekend, he erupted for 44 points, six rebounds and nine assists in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
In 10 games since the All-Star break, Russell is averaging 21.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 5.7 APG. He's also shooting the ball well, posting 49/45/76 shooting splits.
If the Lakers want any shot at making noise in the postseason, they are going to need Russell to stay hot offensively. When he's performing like he has recently, it takes a lot of pressure off LeBron James and Anthony Davis. More importantly, it makes them an even tougher team to defend.
Russell's name was front and center in trade rumors all season, but LA decided to bet on him. Through this recent stretch, he's showing the front office that they made the right decision.
