News 'n Views - Mar 2016: D'Angelo Russell affair just the latest sign the Lakers are losing their identity
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:12 pm    Post subject:

D’Angelo Russell needs to grow up to help fix trouble in Lakerland
by Tyriq Butler - todaysfastbreak.com

It didn’t seem like it could get any worse.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who’d missed the playoffs just five times prior to the 2013-14 season, are about to do so for the third consecutive year. And having to exude patience with arguably one of the worst coaches in NBA history (Byron Scott’s career win percentage of .414 is the all-time worst of coaches with at least 1,000 games) during the worst year in franchise history, it appeared that the only way to go was up.

But then rookie sensation D’Angelo Russell decided it was time to work on his FBI resume reel and got caught recording teammate Nick Young talking about cheating on fiancée Iggy Azalea. When you’re in the midst of this type of atrocity, losing 59 of your first 74 games as a pro, you get bored and pranks apparently become a “thing.” And yes, he’s young so he’s expected to make mistakes. But none of this serves as a license or an excuse for this type of heinous act if you’re Russell.

This was a two-pronged mistake on the part of the 20-year-old point guard. This type of information being disseminated causes eyebrows to be raised and frenzies to ensue (though TMZ has reported everyone involved believes a third party obtained and released the video), so this possibly absolves Russell of some blame. But the fact that you’re secretly recording a teammate confess his infidelity is absolutely ridiculous given everything that could potentially go wrong.

And though we’ve impugned the coaching abilities of Scott for the plethora of poor decisions he’s made during this dumpster fire of a season, he did allude to some of these immaturity issues he’s witnessed emanating from his floor general. Scott has said Russell wasn’t as mature as Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving when they were rookies.

This seems to be a recurring theme with D’Lo, but now it’s taken a turn for the worse. “It’s bad,”Ramona Shelburne, who covers the Lakers said. “It’s about as bad as it can get. There were trust issues already. Now there’s no trust.”

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:13 pm    Post subject:

Lakers can't pass torch to D'Angelo Russell or he'll set everything on fire
by Bill Plaschke - latimes.com

As retribution for this latest bit of foolishness, somebody could secretly videotape the innermost thoughts of D’Angelo Russell, except for one problem.

It would be all static. The kid doesn’t think.

The news that Russell is being shunned by his Lakers teammates for secretly taping Nick Young confirms the Lakers’ worst fears as they stumble toward life without Kobe Bryant.

Russell is too immature to lead them there.

He was drafted second overall last spring in the hopes that he would spend this season being a student, a protégé, a sponge.

Instead, he has been 19, going on 20, going on 12.

He was supposed to represent the Lakers’ next generation, but instead he has become their next problem. He was supposed to be the new Magic Johnson, but so far he is behaving like a retread of Andrew Bynum. He has played decently in spurts, even brilliantly on occasions, but he has done so while acting like the overgrown child that he is.

At the beginning of the month, he rolled off a stretch of eight games that featured seven 20-plus point performances with an average of nearly five assists a game, and talk of him being a blown draft pick was silenced. But after a couple of dreadful weeks, and now this latest incident, the bad buzz is back. If he’s not a bust as a potential star, he’s certainly been a bust as a potential leader.

You can’t pass Russell the torch; he will set something on fire, which is pretty much what happened with this recent video that appeared on a celebrity gossip site.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:14 pm    Post subject:

D'Angelo Russell-Nick Young Drama All Too Predictable Outcome for Both
by Kevin Ding - bleacherreport.com

It's not surprising to anyone who really knows these Los Angeles Lakers that D'Angelo Russell did something immature and thought he was above getting called on it—or that Nick Young was involved in a juvenile back-and-forth prank that saw his deep-seated celebrity ambitions leading him astray.

It'll be up to Russell and Young whether it's a learning experience for the future or just a colossal embarrassment for today.

As crazy as this whole story regarding Russell, Young and locker room etiquette is, the understandable part is how the main characters are flawed in just the ways for which they are taking falls right now.

Russell recorded Young about three months ago, according to team sources, in what he thought would be part of an atmosphere of ongoing joking between them. It turned into a major Snapchat snafu, sources said, with Russell thinking he could privately post video of Young without his knowledge, talking about women, and take it down without those few people he shared it with recording it—or anyone ever publicizing it.

He—and Young—are learning the hard way how dangerous a game it is to mess around in this social media world with stuff that matters. There can be epic ramifications when the topic matters as much as it does to Young and fiancee Iggy Azalea and matters as much as it does to a public that loves lurid details of athlete missteps.

Russell recently turned 20, and his alpha-male, self-assured personality is a core reason the Lakers believe he can be a strong leader for the organization…someday.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:15 pm    Post subject:

Video Montage - Kobe vs Heat
by lakersnation.com
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:30 am    Post subject:

How the Lakers' young core beat the Heat in overtime
by Harrison Faigen - silverscreenandroll.com

The team needed some excitement, and the young core brought it in a thrilling Wednesday night win.

The Los Angeles Lakers had the worst three-day stretch of their season this past week. On Monday, the team was on the wrong end of a beatdown at the hands of the Utah Jazz, with the 48 point road loss tied for the largest defeat in Lakers history.

Things were clearly in dire straits on the court, but the following night the team took a bigger hit off of it when ESPN reported that D'Angelo Russell's teammates were "isolating" him after a video he filmed showed Nick Young admitting to infidelity became public a week ago.

On Wednesday, Russell privately and publicly apologized to Young and the team, but their relationships appeared to need more time to mend. The Lakers were slated to take on the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, and while it would be unrealistic to believe any on court results could fix everything wrong with the team, they and their fanbase desperately needed a dose of positivity.

The Lakers' young core offered that and then some in an exciting 102-100 overtime victory over Miami. A Staples Center crowd that began the night booing Russell any time he touched the ball was left cheering for him and his teammates as they drove the team to as thrilling of a win as they've had all season.

Despite the result, Russell knew he still had a long way to go before earning the forgiveness of his teammates and a large contingent of vocal fans:

D'Angelo Russell: "I can't really show my face anywhere without people hating me right now."

The nature of fandom is fickle. Despite Russell's immature behavior, if he continues to show contrition for his actions combined with the potential he did on Wednesday night, that hate he referenced will fade like a Snapchat video is intended to.

According to Jordan Clarkson, things weren't as bad as initially reported and the team had already forgiven Russell for his mistake:

Jordan Clarkson also disputed the isolation/shunning reports by ESPN.

Jordan Clarkson said D'Angelo Russell apologized prior to the game & he said team accepted it & ready to move on.

Russell certainly didn't appear to be frozen out on the court against the Heat, and while his shot wasn't falling for most of the game (6-19 on the night), Russell came through when it mattered most, making both of his shots in overtime:

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:32 am    Post subject:

After Game Videos - Heat at Lakers
by lakersnation.com

Julius Randle Nails Game-Winner & Dwyane Wade Crashes Kobe's Presser

Dwyane Wade After Playing Kobe Bryant For Last Time

Kobe Bryant's Advice To D'Angelo Russell After Leaked Video Incident

Lamar Odom Attends Lakers Game, Kobe Bryant: 'It's A Miracle'
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:32 am    Post subject:

TDIKH: March 31, 2006
by nba.com

In a trip to Seattle, Kobe Bryant provided the rain as he dropped 43 points to lead the Lakers’ 106-93 victory.

The NBA’s leading scorer provided 11 points in the second quarter, but really got it going in the next frame.

He racked up 14 in the third, including 10 in the final four minutes alone, which coincided with a 12-5 run that concluded with Bryant completing a reverse layup with one second left.

By the time the buzzers sounded, the Lakers had an 81-73 lead after outscoring the SuperSonics in the third quarter by a dozen.

Bryant kept it going with 10 points in the final frame.

While Ray Allen scored 29 points for the Sonics, his team shot just 38.0 percent as a whole.

Meanwhile, Bryant was aided by double-doubles from Kwame Brown (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Lamar Odom (12 points, 10 rebounds).

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:00 pm    Post subject:

D'Angelo Russell affair just the latest sign the Lakers are losing their identity
by Jeff Miller - ocregister.com

His words this week were old-school in both their style and their reference, Byron Scott speaking after another historically miserable loss of an historically miserable season.

“You have to show this organization that you deserve to be here,” the Lakers coach said after a 48-point defeat Monday in Utah, “and you understand what wearing that purple and gold is all about.”

Wearing that purple and gold ... what, exactly, is it all about these days?

It once was about winning. About Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. About Magic and “Showtime.” About Kobe and Shaq and Phil. And Phil and Pau and Kobe.

It once was about a franchise’s undying fixation – game after game, season after season, era after era – with only one thing: Collecting championships.

But, on Wednesday, wearing that purple and gold was about enduring humility, more undying humility.

So there D’Angelo Russell sat, coldly admitting that he “honestly” did believe he had jeopardized the engagement of teammate Nick Young to Australian rapper Iggy Azalea because of a leaked video that he never intended for anyone else to see.

It was the individual mistake of a still maturing 20-year-old, one cast in a position where his mistakes often occur for all the world to see, even if, in this case, he has no idea how everyone got to see it.

As significant as the consequences might turn out, that really is how simply this situation can be described – a young, naive professional athlete messing up in a big, big way on social media.

And, if we needed a moment to illustrate just how far off course this franchise now has careened, this moment worked well for that, too.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:02 pm    Post subject:

The Lakers Can Kindly Shove Their Bro Code
by Dave Zirin - thenation.com

 D’Angelo Russell is being publicly shamed for recording a video of his teammate talking about a hook-up with a teenager... because that makes perfect sense.

 The 2016 version of the Los Angeles Lakers organization has already proven that it lacks any passion for winning, developing young talent, or being anything more than a traveling circus: a Washington Generals–esque vessel for Kobe Bryant’s LA County–sized ego. But now, despite the team’s 16-59 record, we have finally found something that stirs their hearts, unites them with purpose, and makes them care: “The Bro Code.”

With fewer than 10 games left in the season, talented 20-year-old rookie D’Angelo Russell is being shunned like Hester Prynne—literally shunned—because he videoed 30-year-old teammate, and self-described mentor, Nick “Swaggy P” Young talking about his hook-up with a 19-year-old woman at a club. Young, an absurdly unserious facsimile of a pro basketball player, is engaged to the absurdly unserious facsimile of a hip-hop artist Iggy Azalea. If Kobe Bryant is this team’s unsmiling Il Duce, Swaggy & Iggy are their prom king and homecoming queen. Young was also accused of sexual harassment last month—along with another very promising young player, Jordan Clarkson, whom one assumes Swaggy was also mentoring—and few in the team or in the media seemed to notice or care. This is the odiously infantile carnival that’s been tasked with developing D’Angelo Russell.

Over the last 48 hours, Russell has apologized endlessly, saying he has no idea how the video leaked. He deserves to be criticized, and even confronted. No one should be videoed without their consent. But he’s also 18 months out of high school and the pile-on against him—the absolute flaying of young Mr. Russell—has been both hyperbolic and inane. People old enough to know better should also be true mentors enough to give him a damn break. Instead, this kid who isn’t even old enough to order a drink in a bar, is basically being told that his very future in the league is in doubt.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith—the same Stephen A. Smith who was suspended from ESPN for blaming battered women for “provoking” male violence—said the following (This is in caps because Stephen A Smith is always yelling): “as a man, you don’t do that. under no circumstances, do you infiltrate yourself in somebody else’s business and discuss or reveal their private personal affairs. particularly when it comes to women, you turn the other way. you didn’t see, you saw no evil, you heard no evil, you know no evil. shut the hell up, mind your own business, step off and move on.”

Smith also said, “This is one of those situations where the Lakers gotta contemplate trading him. This is one of those situations where his agent needs to contemplate dropping him so he doesn’t lose other clients.”

The coup de grâce was Smith’s justifying the Lakers’ freezing out Russell by saying, “I am a reporter, and even I don’t want to talk to him.”

This is all such unadulterated (bleep). A 20-year-old prodigy is now an expendable pariah, while Stephen A Smith gets to pass judgement not only on his behavior but whether he should even be given a second chance to win people’s trust.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:04 pm    Post subject:

D’Angelo Russell messed up, but he’s ready to move on
by Grant Goldberg - lakersoutsiders.com

D’Angelo Russell made a mistake. The rookie point guard recorded a conversation with teammate Nick Young, in which Young talked about being with women other than his fiancé Iggy Azalea. That video was made public, and the NBA world seemed to have been set on fire.

Word spread of Russell being isolated by his teammates and the 20-year-old seems to have lost their trust. This all stemmed from a prank gone too far. We have all done things we regret, and you’re lying if you say you haven’t. D’Angelo knows he did wrong. All that he wants to let everyone know he’s sorry.

Russell spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!’s ‘The Vertical’, telling Woj that he never meant to hurt anyone (or their relationship). D’Angelo mentioned that he and Young record themselves doing dumb stuff all the time and watch it later to laugh at it. The former second overall pick made it clear that he was sorry and is looking to repair relationships. For anyone who read that piece, it seems clear that Russell means what he said. D’Angelo said all the things you would want a franchise player to say. He knows what’s ahead of him will be tough, but Russell seems more than ready to move forward.

In a quick press conference before tonight’s game versus Miami, Russell said: “he feels as sick as possible,” also adding that he “cherishes his friendship” with Young. Like us, D’Angelo said he has “no clue” on how the video got out. He reiterated many of the things he said in the aforementioned interview. D’Lo handled himself like a professional and seems to have already learned from this mess.

As for Nick Young, he had this to say to the press:

Young: “I think it’s best me and D’Angelo handle our situation in a private manner. It’s something we need to talk about.”

Nick wants to handle it himself and intends to clear the air with his rookie teammate.

Continued....


Last edited by lakersfreak on Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:05 pm    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant says D'Angelo Russell will evolve after Nick Young incident
by Mike Bresnahan - latimes.com

The diplomacy has begun in the Lakers' locker room, with players publicly saying they won't take sides in the D'Angelo Russell-Nick Young ordeal.

"Both these guys have my support," forward Julius Randle said. "That's their personal situation."

If winning creates healing, the Lakers are off to a good start Wednesday with a 102-100 overtime victory against playoff-bound Miami. It was only one night, though, with many more unpredictable days awaiting Russell.

The rookie has faced searing public criticism since the video he secretly taped of teammate Young was leaked earlier this week. In it, Young was talking about women that were not his fiancée, rapper Iggy Azalea.

Kobe Bryant, serving as the voice of reason in his 20th NBA season, sounded like an older brother, cognizant of his own past mistakes with teammates.

"It's just unfortunate, man. It's tough," Bryant said. "I'm sure he'll evolve. I'm sure he will grow and I'm sure he'll be better from it.

"I don't think there's much he can do about it outside of the countless apologies. There's not really anything else to do but just continue to perform, continue to win the trust of his teammates and peers, and onward he goes."

Russell, 20, said he couldn't show his face anywhere in L.A. because everyone hated him so much. He was only partly joking. He was booed by Lakers fans during pregame introductions and when he touched the ball early in Wednesday's game. By the end of it, fans cheered when he hit two key shots in overtime to salvage an otherwise ragged shooting night.

Russell talked to teammates Wednesday night, said Bryant, who called them "understanding" of his predicament.

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:06 pm    Post subject:

Video: Rick Fox & Robert Horry Surprise Kobe Bryant at the American Express Teammate To The Fans Event
by lakersnation.com


Last edited by lakersfreak on Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:07 pm    Post subject:

Kobe turned down overture to play for Barcelona in Euroleague
by espn.go.com

Kobe Bryant chose to shape his post-basketball life over a shot at a Euroleague title.

The Los Angeles Lakers' five-time NBA champion guard was offered a contract by European club FC Barcelona last summer to extend his post-NBA career, but Bryant politely turned down the offer, according to a report in Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

Senior officials at the Catalan club ramped up their overtures toward Bryant after hearing the top scorer in Lakers history talk about ending his basketball career with Spanish big man Pau Gasol at the club that also doubles as his favorite soccer team, according to the report.

While on the Barcelona soccer team's preseason tour of the U.S. last July, club officials said they were told by Kobe that he "would love to finish my career playing for Barca with Pau Gasol," the former Lakers teammate with whom Bryant teamed for two NBA titles in 2009 and 2010.

Bryant spent his childhood in Europe and has often expressed his admiration for European players, but the 37-year-old resisted last year's Barcelona pursuit because, according to the report, he said he didn't know if he could count on a rebound in his health and doubted he could stay mostly healthy for the grueling Euroleague season.

Mundo Deportivo said Bryant passed on an offer from the club to compete exclusively for Barcelona in the more high-profile Euroleague games, which pit up to 18 of the best basketball teams in Europe every season against one another.

Bryant subsequently announced in November that he would retire after this NBA season, ending his 20-year career with the Lakers. He is under contract with the Lakers as the NBA's highest-paid player this season with a $25 million salary.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 10:11 am    Post subject:

lakersfreak wrote:
D'Angelo Russell affair just the latest sign the Lakers are losing their identity
by Jeff Miller - ocregister.com

His words this week were old-school in both their style and their reference, Byron Scott speaking after another historically miserable loss of an historically miserable season.

“You have to show this organization that you deserve to be here,” the Lakers coach said after a 48-point defeat Monday in Utah, “and you understand what wearing that purple and gold is all about.”

Wearing that purple and gold ... what, exactly, is it all about these days?

It once was about winning. About Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. About Magic and “Showtime.” About Kobe and Shaq and Phil. And Phil and Pau and Kobe.

It once was about a franchise’s undying fixation – game after game, season after season, era after era – with only one thing: Collecting championships.

But, on Wednesday, wearing that purple and gold was about enduring humility, more undying humility.

So there D’Angelo Russell sat, coldly admitting that he “honestly” did believe he had jeopardized the engagement of teammate Nick Young to Australian rapper Iggy Azalea because of a leaked video that he never intended for anyone else to see.

It was the individual mistake of a still maturing 20-year-old, one cast in a position where his mistakes often occur for all the world to see, even if, in this case, he has no idea how everyone got to see it.

As significant as the consequences might turn out, that really is how simply this situation can be described – a young, naive professional athlete messing up in a big, big way on social media.

And, if we needed a moment to illustrate just how far off course this franchise now has careened, this moment worked well for that, too.

Continued....


DRAMA around the Lakers! Wow. Thats shocking. The Lakers have changed so much!!
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