NBA Rumors: Mavs’ big swing, Hornets locked in at No. 2, Russell talking too much

BRANDON MILLER, NBA Draft (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BRANDON MILLER, NBA Draft (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
D’Angelo Russell (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
D’Angelo Russell (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

NBA rumors: D’Angelo Russell has problem with Darvin Ham

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham moved D’Angelo Russell to the bench in advance of the team’s Game 4 showdown with the Denver Nuggets. Russell ended up scoring four points in 15 minutes of game action. In his exit interview the next day, Russell expressed frustration with the decision.

Frankly, Russell should probably be more self-aware in the moment. Ham’s decision to bench Russell didn’t come out of nowhere. In fact, it came after he received criticism for not benching Russell in previous games.

Jamal Murray and the Nuggets’ offense made it priority No. 1 to involve Russell in ball screen actions whenever he touched the floor. Russell has never been the most committed on-ball defender and his lack of awareness off the ball was consistently exploited by a Denver offense that prioritizes movement. Russell wasn’t hitting shots either: he scored a combined 21 points on 8-of-27 shooting in Games 1-3.

If Russell isn’t hitting 3s or giving the Lakers life with his playmaking out of pick-and-rolls, he’s not really serving a purpose. LA benefitted drastically from Dennis Schroder’s on-ball pressure on Jamal Murray and Austin Reaves was the Lakers’ best guard by a country mile. There simply was no need to continue starting and feeding Russell, even if his $31.4 million price tag might suggest otherwise. Now, the Lakers face the difficult decision of whether or not to re-sign Russell in free agency.

dark. Next. NBA franchise all-time power rankings