Ranking Julius Randle and the 5 best former Los Angeles Lakers

5. D’Angelo Russell

Again, it is easy to look at this list and just look at the surface of these players and call me an idiot. Don’t worry, it won’t be the first time.

When you really break down the numbers, though, D’Angelo Russell‘s one all-star appearance is not enough to rank him higher than the other players on this list. Sure, he has an accolade that Ball and Clarkson do not have, but he also earned it on a terrible Brooklyn Nets team in a weak Eastern Conference where he was given the chance to throw up shots like they were going out of style.

Heck, Andre Drummond is a Laker now but he is a multi-time all-star and that does not mean he is one of the best centers in the league. All-star appearances need context behind them and the context behind Russell’s is that he was taking nearly 19 shots a game and was averaging 21.1 points.

Russell is a good basketball player but he is the classic big numbers guy that a team is simply not going to win much with. He is someone who needs the basketball a lot to be successful, taking away from his teammates, all while not playing a lick of defense.

The truth is in the pudding. Russell has a lower BPM than Lonzo Ball, a lower VORP than both Ball and Clarkson, far fewer Win Shares per 48 minutes than Ball and Clarkson and his team has actually been worse when he is on the court.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ net rating is 3.9 points worse when Russell is on the floor this season versus when he is off the floor. The Pelicans are 1.8 points better with Ball on the floor, the Jazz are 3.0 points worse but still have a +8 net rating with Clarkson on the floor, the starting group is just really good.

D’Angelo Russell can hit some shots and can get buckets, which is why he made the list in the first place, but the “ice water in his veins” is not enough to get him higher than fifth.