Lakers need to forgive Russell and move on
The future of the storied Los Angeles Lakers franchise stands in jeopardy — more than it ever has during my lifetime. Tensions are high in the Lakers locker room upon the public release of tapings taken by Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell of a controversial conversation with teammate Nick Young.
In an effort to assert their disapproval of Russell’s actions, Russell’s teammates have elected to isolate themselves from the No. 2 overall pick of last year’s NBA Draft, sources close to the organization have revealed. In doing so, the Lakers are acting like present day Mean Girls — embodying a rebellious, teenage-girl-like “you can’t sit with us” mentality toward a guy that was brought in and expected to lead this struggling franchise back to its historical winning ways.
There’s no doubt that what Russell did was childish, wrong and seriously violated unwritten locker room rules. His behavior was treacherous, dishonest and untrustworthy — perhaps the antithesis of the traits necessary for the longevity of a successful NBA career. His teammates, both present and future, could opt to never trust him again — snitches get stitches right? The fact that he’s still just a 20-year-old kid doesn’t justify anything that he knowingly or unknowingly did. His young age and on-the-court prowess does, however, provide a reason to forgive him in the interim and move on from this rather unfortunate predicament because whether his teammates like it or not, he is the future of the Lakers franchise.
For the sake of the team’s future, it’s imperative that we all forgive Russell and here’s why: Exactly two weeks from today, Kobe Bryant will play his last game in a Lakers uniform. For 20 years, he has, for the most part, been the face of the franchise. The dilemma the Lakers front office is faced with is who will be that next figurehead for the organization.
When the Lakers used their lottery pick to select Russell in the draft, it’s plausible to assume that they thought he would take the reigns of leading the franchise in the post-Kobe era. Asking a youthful player to fill the shoes of a living legend is already a tall order to fill. It’s an almost impossible task actually, but while Russell continues to mature as a player and person (or not), he has a future with this team, and I certainly hope that this episode of “acting out” doesn’t result in the Lakers making a rash decision and disposing of him prematurely.
Masked behind the curtains of Kobe’s farewell tour, Russell has endured quite a bumpy ride in just his rookie season. He has been involved in trade rumors, benched, removed from the starting lineup, subjected to a large amount of criticism, dealt with injuries, connected to an alleged sexual harassment and now this. That’s a lot to throw at any NBA player, rookie or veteran, and while he could have handled it better at times, he still deserves credit for maintaining his poise amid this circus.
Russell still has a long way to go and obviously needs to grow up much sooner than later if he is going to be in any position to lead. It’s vital that he does because if the Lakers are going to want to build a team around him, they are going to have to attract free agents and draftees to come to Los Angeles to play alongside him. Therefore, it’s on Russell to rebuild his character and do whatever it takes so that players around the league entrust in him as a potential teammate, on and off the court.
Many critics say that Russell is the least of the Lakers’ problems, but I actually think that this situation serves as a reminder of their actual problem — a lack of identity as the franchise prepares to voyage into uncharted waters without a star player and distinguished leader.
Can you think of the last time, excluding injuries, when the Lakers didn’t have at least one superstar on its roster? You have to go back to the mid-’90s when the team was being led in scoring by the honorable Cedric Ceballos for a pair of seasons that resulted in early playoff exits. The franchise would probably kill just to get back into the playoffs in the next couple of seasons, but the way the league works today, I just don’t see that happening unless the Lakers have a clearly defined superstar. Whether that requires sticking with Russell, drafting a player like Ben Simmons (if he’s available) or going out in free agency and nabbing one of the Russell Westbrooks or DeMar DeRozans of the league, the franchise needs to get its priorities straight, and do it quickly.
The Lakers suffered their worst loss in franchise history the other night in a 48-point pounding at the hands of the Utah Jazz. It has become evident that the team’s disfunction internally is just as bad, if not worse, as the team’s play on the court this season. It pains me to say this, but this is a franchise on life support. Hopefully, this quandary stemming from Russell sheds some light on what should be of utmost priority — bringing the Lakers franchise back to life.
This post was updated at 9:56 p.m.
Darian Nourian is a senior majoring in print and digital journalism. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Thursdays.