2. D’Angelo Russell is good off the ball
Although it was a short sample size, D’Angelo Russell showed promise at the 2 playing alongside Jordan Clarkson as the point guard. Late in the season, Luke Walton played with L.A.’s lineup moving Jordan to the 1 and D’Angelo to the 2 and the results were positive.
Russell proved he could play off the ball without his production dropping, but more so, he was willing to play the role Walton wanted him to without complaint.
That’s cause to believe Russell would be willing to do the same in the event Lonzo becomes the Lakers’ starting point guard of the future.
Considering L.A. was in the running for another lottery pick, Walton may have been testing his lineup for this exact scenario.
And since we saw Russell become more aggressive at the end of the season, which is undoubtedly the best version of him, having Lonzo Ball at the 1 and Russell at the 2 would give D’Angelo free reign to be an attack-first player.
Therefore, adding Ball to the mix is one way the Lakers get to use of all the ice coming out of D-lo’s veins.