Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 3/30/16
Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell has reportedly upset the bulk of the team’s roster thanks to a prank gone terribly wrong. Teammates are ostracizing Russell, who recorded a private conversation in which Nick Young spoke about being with women other than his fiancee, the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, according to a report by Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Some within Lakers brass are upset with Russell, too, but they’ve left the matter to the players thus far, Holmes and Stein write. Coach Byron Scott has notoriously harped on Russell’s maturity, work ethic and attitude, and several team sources who spoke with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News had levied the same criticisms even before the video was exposed.
Young and Russell were friends, with the swingman at times publicly sticking up for the 2015 No. 2 overall pick, but sources who spoke with Medina believe the now-strained friendship is beyond repair. Young went out of his way to avoid crossing Russell’s path at Staples Center before Friday’s game, according to Medina. No Lakers would sit with Russell for a recent breakfast meeting, Holmes and Stein hear. Another time, Lou Williams stood up and walked away when Russell sat next to him in the locker room, according to Holmes and Stein.
The sanctity and privacy of the locker room is one of the most important unwritten rules in all of team sports. Athletes are under the microscope from media and fans almost constantly and the locker room is supposed to act as a buffer and a safe haven where players can be free to relax and be themselves. Russell’s actions, while likely not malicious in intent, definitely crossed a line, and it remains to be seen if the relationship between Russell and his teammates can be repaired.
Russell has had a difficult rookie campaign on the court as well, struggling to make the jump to the NBA as a point guard after one season at Ohio State. He’s appeared in 72 contests, including 40 as a starter, and is averaging 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists on the year. His play of late has shown improvement, but this rift between him and his teammates could set back the progress of the entire franchise. Chemistry and trust are vital to the success of any team, even more so between a point guard and his running mates, and if the rest of the Lakers are freezing him out off the court, it’s fair to wonder how this may impact the team in the long run.
This brings me to the topic for today: Should the Lakers look to trade D’Angelo Russell?
In all fairness to Russell, he is just 20 years old, which leaves him plenty of time to mature and grow as a person. The point guard certainly has a wealth of talent and has shown flashes of greatness on occasion this season, which bodes well for his future as a player, but it remains to be seen if his teammates will get over this act of betrayal. There may be serious personal consequences for Young, whose relationship could end over Russell’s clandestine video being made public. Regardless of what you think of Young’s actions in a moral sense, it wasn’t Russell’s place to reveal them to the world. The Lakers are a rebuilding team and many of their current players likely won’t be returning next season, so the current locker room dynamic may be altered as a result. But the question still remains as to how any new teammates will react to Russell and if it will hurt the franchise’s free agent recruiting efforts.
Now it’s time to turn the discussion over to you. Do you think that Los Angeles should part ways with Russell as a result of his actions? Or do you believe he is too valuable a player to trade? Will this scandal blow over, or do you think the Lakers’ locker room is irreparably broken? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.
Whiteside Unaware Of Lakers' Potential Interest
There have been reports that the Lakers intend to target Hassan Whiteside this offseason, but the big man said that any potential interest from Los Angeles was news to him, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays. “They’ve been talking about me and the Lakers?” Whiteside responded when asked about the Lakers’ potential interest. “I didn’t know that.” The big man did add that the Lakers should be familiar with what he can do from his time spent with them prior to the 2014/15 campaign, Winderman adds. “I worked out for the Lakers before I worked out with the Heat,” Whiteside said. “So, I mean, they’ve seen it. They had a chance to see what I could do. I know Byron Scott was there and a couple of other front-office guys.”
Rift Develops Between D’Angelo Russell, Teammates
11:58am: Russell didn’t mean for the video to become public, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) and Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding (video link). Russell posted the video to Snapchat and quickly deleted it, thinking no one would ever see it, according to Ding, but sources tell Kennedy that Russell’s Snapchat account was hacked.
8:44am: Lakers players are furious with D’Angelo Russell over what one team insider described as a prank gone wrong, report Baxter Holmes and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Teammates are ostracizing Russell, who recorded a private conversation in which Nick Young spoke about being with women other than his fiancee, the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, according to Holmes and Stein. It’s a disconcerting situation that builds on existing trust issues within the locker room, a team source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com for the story.
Some within Lakers brass are upset with Russell, too, but they’ve left the matter to the players thus far, Holmes and Stein write. Coach Byron Scott has notoriously harped on Russell’s maturity, work ethic and attitude, and several team sources who spoke with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News levied the same criticisms even before the video. Team officials see the video controversy as an example of the 20-year-old rookie’s immaturity, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, though a source told Bresnahan that Lakers players have been pulling pranks on each other throughout the season. Russell shot the video a couple of months ago, Bresnahan hears, but it didn’t surface publicly until the gossip website Fameolous.com posted it a few days ago.
Young and Russell were friends, with the swingman at times publicly sticking up for last year’s No. 2 overall pick, but sources who spoke with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News believe the now-strained friendship is beyond repair. Young went out of his way to avoid crossing Russell’s path at Staples Center before Friday’s game, according to Medina. No Lakers would sit with Russell for a recent breakfast meeting, Holmes and Stein hear. Another time, Lou Williams stood up and walked away when Russell sat next to him in the locker room, according to Holmes and Stein.
Young hasn’t played in the last 10 Lakers games, though the two most recent absences were because he was suffering from gastroenteritis. The first eight were coach’s decisions, with the ninth-year veteran suffering through a career-worst season. He’s under contract through 2017/18, though he can opt out in the summer of 2017. Russell is in the first season of a four-year rookie scale deal.
Robert Upshaw Switches Agents
- Lakers affiliate player Robert Upshaw, who was tossed from the D-league earlier this month for violating its anti-drug program, has parted ways with BDA Sports Management and agent Bill Duffy and hired Hazan Sports Management to represent him, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets.
Byron Scott Slams Defensive Effort, Praises Bryant
- Lakers coach Byron Scott was unhappy with the defensive effort of his younger players against Rodney Hood, who scored 30 points against Los Angeles on Monday night, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake City Tribune relays (via Twitter). The coach pointed to Kobe Bryant‘s willingness to take the assignment when his other players didn’t rise to the challenge, Falk adds. “Kobe wanted to take on the challenge,” Scott told reporters. “It’s a [expletive] shame our oldest player has to take the challenge. It says a lot about him, obviously. It’s what he has done all his life, but nobody else wanted to step up and take that challenge and that’s a shame that the oldest guy our team that is leaving this league in eight games was the one that had to kind of shut him down.“
Nuggets Rumors: Nurkic, Mudiay, Jokic, Gallinari
Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is trying to pick up the pieces of an injury-plagued second season in the NBA, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. After earning second-team all-rookie honors in 2014/15, Nurkic has seen his playing time and effectiveness limited by an aching left knee. He had surgery during the offseason to repair a partially torn patellar tendon, but the knee hasn’t responded the way he hoped it would. He is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 23 games. “I can’t control this stuff,” Nurkic said. “When I hear my name I go in. I haven’t heard it a lot this season for some reason, but I will be a professional until the end and try to finish the season the right way.” In October, Denver picked up his option for 2016/17 at $1,921,320. He also has a team option for 2017/18 at $2,947,305.
There’s more news today out of Denver:
- Both Emmanuel Mudiay and Nikola Jokic have strong cases to be first-team choices on this season’s all-rookie team, Dempsey contends in a separate story. Mudiay, the seventh player selected in the 2015 draft, leads NBA rookies in assists with 5.7 per game and is fourth in scoring average at 12.3 points per night. His main competition for first-team honors in the backcourt will come from the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell and the Suns’ Devin Booker, Dempsey believes. Jokic was a second-round pick in 2014 who played in the Adriatic and Serbian leagues before coming to the NBA. He ranks second among rookies behind the Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns in player efficiency rating and is fourth in rebounding and eighth in scoring.
- The Nuggets don’t know if Danilo Gallinari will play again this season, but the injured small forward plans to be part of the Italian team in the Summer Olympics, according to Marco “Barzo” Barzizza of Eurosport [hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando]. Gallinari suffered two torn ligaments in his right ankle during a late February game. The injury was expected to keep him out of action for about a month, but the Nuggets may shut him down for the season even if he does recover. “I don’t know if I’ll be back before the end of the season,” Gallinari said. “I am very happy to be in Denver and before thinking about new teams I hope to win something here and to play for the Denver Nuggets for many years.”
Brandon Bass Unsure About Player Option For 2016/17
Lakers big man Brandon Bass is unsure if he’ll exercise his player option worth $3,135MM for 2016/17, but he did note that he’s enjoyed acting as a mentor to the team’s younger players, relays Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Bass told Medina. “I’m a special type of player and person to be around this type of group. I think I can help develop these young guys. I want them to be successful. I would love to see them grow and would love it to be here. But you never know what happens.”
Coach Byron Scott was effusive in his praise for the veteran, telling Medina, “I love Brandon Bass. I love his work ethic. I love his professionalism. I love his attitude. I love that you know when you put him in the game, you know what you’re going to get.” The 30-year-old has made 60 appearances for the Lakers this season and is averaging 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per outing.
Scott Won't Win By Losing
- The Lakers and Suns have been out of the playoff race for a long time, but their game tonight is still important, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. L.A. is four and a half games ahead of Phoenix for second place in the latest reverse standings. Draft position is especially important for the Lakers, who need their pick to fall in the top three to avoid having it sent to the Sixers. Even so, coach Byron Scott gives no thought to losing. “We’re not in a weird position,” he said. “We play Phoenix and we’re trying to win the game.”
Knicks Rumors: Anthony, Rambis, Porzingis
Carmelo Anthony understands he can force his way out of New York if he desires, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. In a wide-ranging interview about his career and the state of the Knicks, Anthony acknowledged that he refused to waive his no-trade clause amid rumors of possible deals before last month’s deadline. “I guess I have all the power,” he said. “If I really wanted to get out of this situation I could have waived that no-trade clause. But I’ve stuck with it and I’m still sticking with it.”
How much longer he’ll stick with it is anyone’s guess. The Knicks are looking at another summer of upheaval, with a major decision surrounding the fate of interim head coach Kurt Rambis and possibly a limited return of Phil Jackson to the bench. Whatever happens, Anthony made it clear that his patience with New York management is wearing thin. He’s tired of missing the playoffs, which the Knicks are doing for the third straight season, and he expects the franchise to add at least one big-name free agent this summer. “Now it’s time to start competing for a championship, not just competing for the playoffs,” Anthony said. “Those days for me are over with.”
There’s more news out of New York:
- The time has come for Anthony and the Knicks to part ways, argues Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Anthony expects to be surrounded by veteran stars, and pursuing them isn’t the best strategy for New York right now, Ziller writes. Instead, he says the team should focus on rebuilding around rookie Kristaps Porzingis. The columnist suggests the Lakers, Rockets, Mavericks, Celtics and Wizards as possible destinations for Anthony.
- Anthony offered more fuel for the argument that he’s thinking of moving on, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “It’s hard to answer those type of questions when you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Anthony said today. “We still have a month left to the season. To be thinking, ‘Am I going to be on this team next [season]?’ That’s for you to speculate. I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer. I can’t predict that.”
- Rambis would prefer that Porzingis skip the Olympics this summer, writes Barbara Barker of Newsday. “I understand players’ commitments to their country and their desire to play for their country,” Rambis said. “But from a selfish standpoint, looking at it purely from a Knicks standpoint, yeah, we’d want him here working with us the whole time.”
Byron Scott Looks Beyond Clarkson's Shooting Woes
- Lakers coach Byron Scott isn’t concerned about Jordan Clarkson‘s shooting slump, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. The second-year shooting guard has averaged 9.7 points, shot 29.5% from the field and made just two of 17 3-point attempts over the past three games. “I don’t put a whole lot of stock into it,” Scott told Oram and other members of the media. “You’re going to have stretches of this season, which is a long season, where you’re going to have some bad games.”