LeBron James gives D'Angelo Russell the J.R. Smith treatment after crucial turnover

The Lakers, needing a last-minute miracle to beat the Kings in overtime, were unable to inbound the ball to D'Angelo Russell, in what seemed to be a miscommunication between the inbound player, LeBron James, and Russell the receiver. Of course, fans were quick to point out that LeBron's reaction was very similar to how he reacted to J.R Smith's buffoonery in the 2018 NBA Finals.

The Lakers were unable to beat the Kings in even though Domantas Sabonis fouled out and De'Aaron Fox was injured in overtime. Still, the Lakers' role players struggling was the biggest issue.

Gabe Vincent appeared non-existent on offense as he only had three points in this 32 minutes of play. Austin Reaves went 1-of-12 during the game. Both have struggled this season.

Will the Lakers role players start to show themselves at some point this season?

While it should be expected that Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura start to play like themselves at some point, there is real concern regarding Gabe Vincent and D'Angelo Russell. Both of these players were supposed to be answers as offensive playmakers and neither have really shown it so far. There is plenty of time for both of these players to improve but the early results are not looking good.

The Lakers will have to make it work with these two players due to the fact that both of these players are on long-term deals. Both of these contracts are good deals in the league but it will be hard for any team to give real value for L.A. due to the lack of long-term flexibility. D'Angelo Russell may be the player more likely to get traded due to the fact that he has a bigger contract and a shorter overall deal.

Also, the jury is still out on whether Vincent can be a suitable backup playoff guard. After the last-season postseason run, it's clear that Russell is not a suitable starting playoff point guard. At some point, the Lakers will probably look to move Russell.