Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell appeared to take multiple shots at former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham on Monday.
Russell shared that there is more structure around the Lakers this summer, something that has not been the case since he was traded back to the organization that drafted him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
It is certainly concerning that Russell felt this was the case, as the Lakers had made the Western Conference Finals in the 2022-23 campaign and seemingly could have built on that success. Instead, they ended up falling short of that mark in the 2023-24 season.
The veteran guard also mentioned that he had coaches that he didn’t trust, which could’ve been another potential dig at Ham.
During the 2023-24 season, Ham benched Russell for a short period before eventually re-inserting him into the starting lineup.
The one-time All-Star averaged 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range. However, he didn’t play as well in the Lakers’ playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, averaging 14.2 points per game while shooting just 38.4 percent from the field.
The Lakers let Ham go after Los Angeles was knocked out by Denver in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
As the Lakers’ head coach, Ham has compiled a 90-74 record in the regular season and a 9-12 mark in the playoffs. The Lakers went just 1-8 in their last two playoff series under Ham (both against Denver).
Hopefully for the Lakers, Russell will have a better relationship and trust in new head coach J.J. Redick, who is taking over for Ham. While Redick does not have any prior NBA coaching experience, he did have a lengthy career in the league as a player.
Russell is in the final season of his contract with Los Angeles after he opted into his player option this offseason. The former lottery pick would certainly love to have a big season before entering free agency next summer.
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