Point guard D’Angelo Russell’s two-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers hit a low point when he exposed teammate Nick Young’s personal affair that led to his breakup with then fiancée Iggy Azalea. Russell has been dubbed as “snitch” when he recorded his personal conversation with Young about his affair with a 19-year-old girl whom he met in a nightclub. The video made its way to social media, but Russell denied posting it.
The incident created a rift not just between Russell and Young but between the point guard and his other teammates. Some Lakers players distanced themselves from Russell during team breakfast, letting him eat alone by himself.
While Young and Russell mended their relationship, the latter failed to earn the full trust of his teammates due to the incident.
Recently, the Lakers decided that Russell was not the leader they envisioned him to be, trading him and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
D'Angelo did not learn his lesson
Just days after joining the Nets, Russell continued his “snitching” habit with his new team. During his introductory press conference, Russell was asked about his late-night workout video he posted on his Instagram account. Russell revealed to reporters that new teammate Caris Levert was supposed to be in attendance during the workout but did not show up.
"Caris was supposed to be there, but he wasn't," Russell told reporters. Hours after the press conference, Levert joined Russell in his late-night workout with Carmelo Anthony’s personal trainer, Chris Brickley. Nets assistant for player development, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, also joined the workout.
No. 2 pick shrugs off Magic’s claim as ‘irrelevant
During the press conference, Russell addressed the comments made by Lakers president of basketball operations, magic johnson, who said the 2015 No. 2 overall pick “is an excellent player but what I needed was a leader.” “Can't control that, what they say, I'm gone. So it's the past.
I am here now. It's irrelevant, honestly,” said Russell, referring to Johnson’s pronouncement.
Russell said he would prove his doubters wrong by showing his leadership skills with the Nets. Russell averaged 14.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in his two years with the Lakers. After the Lakers had traded Russell, they acquired Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 overall pick to fill the team’s playmaking role. Ball averaged 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 7.6 assists in 36 games at UCLA.
