What does Los Angeles Lakers star D’Angelo Russell mean when he says, “The message”? That was the question surrounding his fans when he tweeted such words on Sunday night.
Some early speculations believe that the six-foot-three point guard, the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, might be leaving the Lakers again.
So, the tug-of-war among fans began with at least one fan telling Russell to return to the team that made him a star, the Brooklyn Nets.
“Leave to Nets”
Another fan believes that Russell, who re-signed with the Lakers last year, must stay in Los Angeles.
“Stay with Lakers”
Well, we might need to wait for a little while before Russell clarifies what “the message” means, especially since his fellow Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing for Team USA in the Paris Olympics.
D’Angelo Russell says he ‘clicked right away’ with LeBron James upon Los Angeles Lakers return
Speaking of LeBron James, D’Angelo Russell thinks they got along quickly upon his return to the Lakers.
After a three-team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz, D’Angelo Russell wore purple and gold again.
Another Russell, Russell Westbrook, was involved in the trade but stayed in Hollywood as he signed with the Lakers’ former Crypto.com Arena co-tenants, the Clippers, after the former MVP agreed on a buyout with the Jazz.
“So coming here last year when we came we clicked right away. I was like, ‘Dang, this is not what I expected.’ We [were] playing at a high level. Hot potato the ball, backdoor, no-look lob. That’s basketball. We were on the same page and we had no time to get there. We just did it.” D’Angelo Russell said in the Run Your Race podcast.
Russell turned out to be the help James and Davis needed as the Lakers, despite entering the postseason as the seventh seed, made a Cinderella run to the Western Conference Finals before getting swept by eventual NBA champions Denver Nuggets.
Laker fans thought their team’s current ‘Big 3’ would continue its journey next season, but concerns surrounding their identity clouded their season, and they found themselves once again by the Nuggets, this time in the first round.
With his cryptic tweet, one can presume that Russell’s future with the Lakers is now in question, but as aforementioned, we can only wait for another statement from him. At age 28, Russell still has a lot to show.
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