NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers Concerned About D’Angelo Russell Scoring
Being a great scorer in the NBA can sometimes be a bad thing. According to ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly worried that D’Angelo Russell may be finding it a bit too easy to score during summer league games. The coaching staff is concerned that it will hurt his development as an overall player.
Browse over the summer league roster, and it is easy to see that D’Angelo Russell is one of the most talented guys out there playing. That should not come as a shock, because he spent a good amount of time on the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers during his rookie season last year.
D’Angelo Russell is leading the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team in scoring, averaging 22.7. He has also led the squad to three consecutive wins, making them undefeated thus far. With Las Vegas being so close to southern California, the games have been filled with excited Lakers fans, and a lot of that is because of what Russell has been doing.
Smooth. #NBASummer https://t.co/4ebI8xyC2w
— NBA TV (@NBATV) July 12, 2016
The Los Angeles Lakers chose Jesse Mermuys to be the head coach of their summer league team. According to SB Nation, Mermuys was hired by new Lakers head coach Luke Walton a couple of weeks ago.
Jesse Mermuys has two big priorities as the head coach. First, he needs to develop Brandon Ingram, the second overall selection in the NBA Draft and possibly the new starting small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers. It would really help the team if Ingram were ready to be a starter whenever the regular season begins this fall.
The other priority is to teach D’Angelo Russell how to be a better teammate. Right now, the talented point guard is trying to build up his confidence by dominating offensively. However, the Los Angeles Lakers really need him to learn to get his teammates involved and know when to go on a scoring spree.
The Los Angeles Lakers are looking more depth on the front court. According to SB Nation, they have interest in Drew Gooden, a 14-year veteran. Management would certainly love for one of the summer league big men to step up and take that role.
Whoever ends up joining the Los Angeles Lakers roster is going to need to learn to play with D’Angelo Russell. With his confidence being sky high, that could carry on to the regular season. Russell might end up looking for his shot more frequently than he did during his first season in the NBA.
D’Angelo Russell needs to learn how to share the ball on offense because Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram, and Julius Randle are going to want to be involved as well. Newly signed center Timofey Mozgov is probably going to want some touches as well, having been relegated to the Cleveland Cavaliers bench during their NBA Championship run this past season.
While D’Angelo Russell is doing a tremendous job of creating excitement during summer league games, the Los Angeles Lakers need to work on other aspects of basketball. It will be better for the long term if he can do that.
[Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images]
