Los Angeles Lakers star D’Angelo Russell has been told to quit the Crypto.com Arena following an apparent bust up with JJ Redick, as the new coach slammed his inconsistency and heart after a drop in form.
The overall second pick of the 2015 NBA Draft seemed set to depart the organization at the end of the 2023/24 season but took up his player option and kicked off the season in fine form alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis as they raced to a 3-0 start.
But since then, they have struggled for form and their record has slipped to 4-4 as they fall from the summit of the Western Conference all the way down to 10th place, just one win above the New Orleans Pelicans (3-6).
And the head coach seemed to put some of the blame on the point guard by hitting out at his lack of ability to maintain a consistent output after he was given the hook against the Memphis Grizzlies after just 22 minutes of action.
“Just level of compete. Attention to detail. Some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks,” Redick told media of Russell, who partially allowed the Grizzlies to take 15 shots for 60% when he was on defense.
And since then, Jeff Teague, a 2021 champion, has also suggested the 28-year-old simply isn’t a good fit for LA as he recommended to Club 520 that they look at TJ McConnell or Tyus Jones as alternative options.
So is it time for Russell to quit?
Despite earning the Lakers’ first round pick almost a decade ago, Russell has never quite lived up to the hype with a career average of 17.7 points per game, 5.8 assists per game and 3.4 rebounds per game.
He has also had spells with the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves and it’s never quite worked out, spending no more than three years at a single franchise.
So with 2024/25 averages of 12 points per game, 5.8 assists per game and 2.3 rebounds per game, is it finally time for the Lakers and Russell to finally pull the plug on each other when his $36m deal runs out at the end of this season?
Maybe not. When he does work, he works. In those first few games of the ongoing season he obtained a defensive rating of 108.5 and still holds the Lakers’ highest defensive rating at 111. So that means he could be worth holding onto to see if they can grind out that consistency.
