Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is once again in the news for his social media activity. The 21-year-old liked a fan’s tweet that referred to predictions of former UCLA guard Lonzo Ball going to the team as “stupid.”
Look at Dlo's latest like… pic.twitter.com/Skiv8GalNq
— Jag (@JagannathMrtn) May 24, 2017
Russell soon unliked the tweet once the action was noticed by users of the social media website. This isn’t the first time Russell swiftly deleted something in regards to Ball; he also tweeted about him on May 10:
https://twitter.com/AnthonyIrwinLA/status/862450726265470977
Take note that this post was made around a week after Ball’s debut shoe was announced and dominated headlines in regards to the product’s price. The world may never know exactly how Russell feels about Ball right now, but the draft projections should motivate him.
Last season, Russell averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 turnovers a game in 60 starts and 63 games for the Lakers. The 6-foot-5 guard showed vast signs of improvement on the floor during his second year and he should be considered to remain a part of the Lakers future plans.
Ball is special, too. During his lone season at UCLA, Ball averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 assists, six rebounds and 2.5 turnovers in 36 games for the Bruins. As a point of reference, Russell averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, five assists and 2.9 turnovers in 35 games at Ohio State. While Ball can shoot and score when called upon to do so, the 6-foot-6 guard’s natural instinct is to find the best shot for his team on the floor. Russell generally carries a more score first mentality and embraces making shots in the closing seconds of games with his famous “ice in the veins” celebration.
The similarly-built players can coexist in the backcourt with each other, but the reality of a more crowded guard corps probably brings the right amount of discomfort to Russell to push him to the level the Lakers need him to be at next season.
