Lakers: Is One-and-Done D’Angelo Russell’s Youth an Excuse?
As a one-and-done player at Ohio State, could the youth of D’Angelo Russell be at the root of recent issues?
Both the NBA and NCAAB worlds have changed due to the rules allowing players to be one-and-done, playing their freshman year and heading to the NBA. That said, the Los Angeles Lakers have their own one-and-done rookie in D’Angelo Russell. Lakers fans were hoping for Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and so was Okafor.
Fans and the media in Los Angeles weren’t sold on Russell being the right fit for the Lakers. But over time, Lakers fans and media members came around and were excited for what he could bring to the future of the franchise. Kobe Bryant was excited as well, wanting to teach the new prospect.
However, the past week has not been flattering of Russell considering the scandal with video-taping in the Lakers locker room and with Kobe Bryant saying that he felt that he has no one on the team to “pass the torch to.”
Coach Byron Scott has received a ton of flack for his coaching style with his young players this season. He has mentioned that he thought Russell acted like a 14-year-old at times. Not many fans believed him nor empathized with his situation in having to relate to a millennial who acts younger than his age.
More from Lake Show Life
- Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
- Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
- Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
- Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
- Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated
The season is almost over, the Kobe Bryant Farewell tour is coming to a close, and there are just a couple of weeks left in the regular season. Could the Lakers hold on and perform at a high level through the end of the season? The answer, unfortunately, appears to be no.
The Lakers had recently beaten the best team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, and performed well for a bit, but have trailed off since. Then all hell broke loose with the leaked Snapchat footage of Lakers veteran Nick Young explaining that he cheated on his fiancé, hip-hop artist Iggy Azalea, without thinking any taping on Russell’s phone would get out.
Now that the video has leaked, the Lakers rookie says he feels horrible about it and Iggy has treated this situation with as much class as she can muster. TMZ is also reporting she is riding horses, clearing her head, and re-evaluating her pending nuptials. Meanwhile, the Lakers are in turmoil after the incident with teammates left not being able to trust the Ohio State Buckeyes product.
No matter what comes of Young and Azalea, though, Russell’s youthful stupidity was evident in this situation. Even if he potentially stopped a bad marriage from happening, that doesn’t change the camaraderie that he betrayed with his immature actions.
Russell will learn and grow from this experience, having to sit down and discuss it man-to-man is a good move on the part of the Lakers organization and all involved. Plus he has to address the media, which will again be a growing experience. It’s a tricky situation given the complexities of the “bro-code” within an NBA team and the ethics of an engaged man being unfaithful.
However, the lack of maturity from D’Angelo Russell in this instance for even thinking that this was an acceptable joke is something prevalent in this NBA culture filled with one-and-done players.
Next: Lakers Draft Prospects: The Case Against Ben Simmons
Those one-and-dones are an enigmatic group of NBA players where youth is something all NBA teams have to deal with in every regard. Let’s hope that this fiasco with Russell is the last horrible thing to come from him and the Lakers organization for quite some time—and that the rookie can start to mature in the process.