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Lakers coach Darvin Ham has addressed D'Angelo Russell's comments regarding their relationship last season. The guard expressed feeling disconnected from Ham, believing that the coach favored Dennis Schroder due to their long-standing connection.
D'Angelo Russell recently shared in an interview with ESPN that he struggled to connect with Ham last season because he felt he was merely accepting his coach's comments and couldn't effectively communicate with him.
Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Ham said his relationship with Russell is now “in a great place.”
“It doesn’t hit the ground running all the time smooth,” he said (per Jovan Buha). “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.”
Ham added that he and Russell have improved their communication and are now more honest with each other.
“Then, for him, the beautiful thing about it I think that caused the difference in where we were then and where we are now is our ability to talk and be honest with one another. And our ability to really take accountability with one another.”
According to the ESPN report, Russell felt the disconnect as he was aware Ham had coached Schroder during their Atlanta Hawks days, while he had only been with Ham and the Lakers for a few months after being traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
D'Angelo Russell helped the team’s significant turnaround but struggled in the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets. Despite starting every game he played for LA after joining the team, he was relegated to the bench by Game 4.
"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,” he told ESPN.
D'Angelo Russell reveals the advice LeBron James gave him to be better
Even before joining forces with LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell sought his advice on how to be a better basketball player.
The point guard shared the advice he received from "The King" before his All-Star season in 2018-19, revealing that he asked James about how to be more consistent.
"I was like, 'Bro, how do you become more consistent of a player?'" Russell said.
"He said, 'I read. I sleep. I eat. My routine is on point.' I still got the text. And honestly, he was the reason I developed a routine."
This season, Russell has become a productive starter for the Lakers. His 18 ppg is his since the 2019-20 season and he is shooting a career-high 42.4% from 3-point range.
