GM Rob Pelinka had gotten the Los Angeles Lakersin trouble. But he managed to right his wrong by revamping the roster before the trade deadline, swapping Russell Westbrook to put a better supporting cast around LeBron James.
D’Angelo Russell took his talents to Southern California again. And while he was far from efficient in the playoffs, he did give Darvin Ham some solid play in the regular season.
And now that the Lakers added more pieces as soon as the NBA offseason started, the former top-five pick believes the team can get over the hump and make some noise next season.
D’Angelo Russell Says The Sky Is The Limit For The New-Look Lakers
“I have no idea. I know we got a lot of bodies, though,” said Russell. “So trying to give the team what it needs every night to win, I think that’s gotta be our focus. Whatever or however it gets done, if everybody is locked into just giving the team what it needs that night.”
“That night might be scoring, the next night might be eight assists, the next night might be all passes because they ran you off and you made the one more to Austin Reaves in the corner, he’s hitting,” added Russell. “It’s gotta be the right play, right mentality type of energy for our group because anybody can do it. He can throw any five out there and get it done. But if we’re all committed to that I think the sky is the limit for the group, honestly.”
On paper, the Lakers are a better team than they were last season, and they’ll have more time to develop chemistry and reach their best version. Hopefully, they’ll also get better production from him in the playoffs.