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Former LA Lakers teammates D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder engaged in a heated altercation during the Lakers’ matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Two days later, leaked audio from their interaction revealed what sparked the incident.
Moments before the altercation, Russell drew a foul on Schroder on a turnaround jump shot. The Lakers guard proceeded to make a “too small” gesture toward the 11-year veteran, after which Schroder called him a “weak a** n**ga.”
While Russell was at the free-throw line, he turned around and challenged Schroder to “do something.” The veteran responded, “You’re not gonna hit this one” before Russell missed the free throw.
On the other end of the court, Schroder proceeded to draw a foul on Russell while driving to the basket and kicking the ball out to his teammate. After the foul, the Lakers guard told Schroder, “That s**t is weak. Stop doing that weak a** s**t.”
The two ultimately exchanged shoves before being separated by officials, with the Raptors guard complaining about Russell initiating the altercation. Russell then doubled down on his previous comments questioning Schroder’s toughness on his drive.
Schroder and Russell only played 15 games together last season after Russell was acquired by LA from the Minnesota Timberwolves at last year’s trade deadline. Additionally, they played 16 2023 playoff games together, meaning they were teammates for just 31 total games before Schroder signed with Toronto this past offseason.
Nonetheless, it’s clear there is no love lost between the former teammates.
Lakers having trouble trading D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell may have just been acquired by the Lakers last season. Nonetheless, his name has been heavily involved in trade rumors in recent weeks.
However, according to Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, Russell doesn’t have much league-wide trade value. So, the Lakers could be stuck with Russell and his two-year, $36 million contract that he signed this past offseason.
“Around the league, D’Angelo Russell’s $17 million salary has not been viewed as a valuable trade chip for the Lakers to bolster their roster behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis,” Fischer wrote.
Russell, 27, has had an up-and-down season, as he got off to a solid start before struggling with his shot and getting benched after 28 games. However, he has offered decent production over his last six games off the bench.
Through 34 games, Russell is averaging 14.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.0 3-pointers per game on 46.3% shooting.
While his short-term contract should be tradeable in theory, it looks like opposing teams aren’t too keen on acquiring the streaky, offensive-minded sixth man.
