Los Angeles Lakers: Why have D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle flourished elsewhere

(Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
(Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle about a year apart. Why have they flourished upon leaving the Lakers?

The 2018-19 season did not go according to plan for the Los Angeles Lakers. Injuries to Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and LeBron James were too much to overcome throughout the season, resulting in a 37-45 record and a sixth straight year without a playoff appearance.

Los Angeles will once again be in the lottery, but that is not where the organization or fans expected to be after landing James in free agency in 2018. It is very easy to cast a gaze to the rest of the league in hope of finding a distraction from a lost season, however, you don’t need to look too far in order to find further misery for the Purple and Gold.

With two of the Lakers‘ former lottery picks having career seasons, putting up monstrous numbers at times and looking like they have finally realized the significant talent that Lakers nation knew they had.

While the likes of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball are still growing and still learning, they aren’t quite hitting the same heights that Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell are at now.

Both had monster performances this season, with Julius Randle put up a gaudy double-double with 45 points, 11 rebound and 6 assists in a losing effort to the Portland Trailblazers and D’Angelo Russell having a career night with 44 points, 12 assists and 4 rebounds.

It seems as if leaving the Lakers is the elixir that has pushed these two budding stars onto the next level. Did leaving the Lakers really broke the shackles that have been holding Russell and Randle back? Has breaking away from the significant spotlight cast by the Lakers allowed for their development to reach the next level?

Maybe, maybe not. But to find out how they got to where they are now, we have to understand where they have been. Let’s take a look as to why Russell and Randle are flourishing outside of Los Angeles.

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