Magic Johnson took a shot at D’Angelo Russell on the way out the door by questioning his leadership
The Los Angeles Lakers will have a new look at point guard in the upcoming season.
Out is D’Angelo Russell, as he was used as the carrot to get the burdensome contract of big man Timofey Mozgov off the books in their trade with the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez (and his expiring contract) plus a first round pick.
In comes Lonzo Ball and all the hoopla and distractions that go with him. Magic Johnson decided to go a bit further, though, and explain why the moves were made.
Magic wanted leadership for the Lakers, and apparently Russell didn’t provide enough of it.
Let’s face it, this probably wasn’t all about leadership. Ball has that name appeal in a place that is all about big names. If Ball becomes the next Jason Kidd, that’s going to be a great piece to recruit Paul George and LeBron James next off-season to try and bring the Los Angeles Lakers back to the top of the NBA mountain.
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Russell isn’t totally blameless in this (just ask Nick Young), and he probably needed a fresh start somewhere else, but it’s hard for a 21-year-old kid in a bad situation to display all the leadership qualities he could have.
Both the Lakers and Russell needed to move on. However, Magic didn’t need to kick him on his way out the door.