Lakers coach reacts to D'Angelo Russell's 'bad relationship' comments

D’Angelo Russell is finding more success in his second tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers than in his first. Partly due to poor coaching, and partly due to his lack of maturity, things didn’t go well the first time around.

Russell is now a seasoned NBA veteran looking to prove his worth in the league. He’s currently vital to his team’s aspirations, but things weren’t always like that, as he was rumored to be on the trading block multiple times.

Recently, Russell even claimed that former teammate Dennis Schroder didn’t allow him to have a good relationship with coach Darvin Ham, which is why he was often benched in key stretches.

Darvin Ham Responds To Russell’s Comments

Notably, Ham didn’t shy away from those comments. He claimed that building relationships is tough, and that things won’t always march as smoothly as people expect:

“It doesn’t hit the ground running all the time smooth. Trying to figure things out on the fly. And yeah, Dennis is someone I love and care about. Dennis is a helluva player. But just trying to learn ‘Lo on the fly and figure things out,” said Ham.

The second-year coach also stated that his relationship with Russell is currently in a great place, but he admitted that they can bump heads every now and then because of their desire to win:

“Then, for him, the beautiful thing about it I think that caused the difference in where we were then and where we are now is our ability to talk and be honest with one another. And our ability to really take accountability with one another,” continued Ham. “It’s two grown men both caring about winning. Both trying to help one another figure this thing out. And who both want to get to the level we know we can get to. But in terms of he and I, I think we’re in a great place right now. I’m sure he would agree.”