The level of performance of an athlete will always determine his worth as in case of D’Angelo Russell. The team will always count on the athlete with higher performance in their quest for better results, and it seems Russell has come up on top in terms of his on-court display for the Lakers.
D’Angelo Russell may have had a rough campaign last season, but the team still has enough faith in his skills moving forward as it was good enough to earn him a deal that will keep him with the Lakers. Now the LA Lakers Head Coach has recently named him starting point guard for the coming season.
Darvin Ham announces Lakers’ starting PG
All NBA teams are currently trying to put everything in place before the commencement of the training camp. Regarding the starting PG for the Los Angeles Lakers, Dravin Ham has named D’Angelo Russell as his player of choice. It seems that the versatile point guard has made a permanent place for himself in the starting 5 of the Lakers with his performances and will require to deliver consistently to maintain his position.
Though many expected that Gabe Vincent would get the nod over Russell due to his previous achievements with the Miami Heat, Russell is clearly most preferred for the role by the head coach. Darvin Ham had expressed how satisfied he has been with Russell in a media availability session.
“He’s been great with his communication all summer, especially when he’s gotten back in the market around the guys. Just seeing him in workouts, seeing him in little pickup games, how he’s talking; he’s vocal, he’s encouraging the new guys, he’s talking through things with Bron and AD.”, said Ham.
Darvin Ham hopes to give Russell the starting position, emphasized on the much-needed efforts to do better and also admitted to expecting greater things from him come next season.
D’Angelo Russell committed to Lakers with whopping $36 million contract
Russell was vital in the Lakers’ midseason edition in 2022-2023 and helped them reach the NBA Play-in Tournament. Russell who is a free agent agreed on a two-year deal worth $37 million with the Lakers. A report by Adrian Wojnarowski on X, formerly known as Twitter, affirmed that the deal includes a player option for next season.
Wojnarowski briefed, “Free agent G D’Angelo Russell has agreed on a two-year, $37 million contract to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers, co-heads of @CAA_Basketball Austin Brown and Aaron Mintz along with Antonio Russell tell ESPN. The deal has a player option. Lakers secure their starting point guard.”
Russell’s last campaign performance during the regular season where he appeared in 17 games, averaging 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 41.4% from three has proven him to be a more favorable teammate to LeBron James as well as the entire team.
Russell’s contract with the Lakers can be seen as a deal that’s favorable to both parties, the team is not overpaying for his services, and he is obviously the fittest for the role in the team.
What’s your view on the future of Russell with the Lakers? Drop your thoughts in the comments section.
