When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell last February, he came back to L.A. as an entirely different player. Russell was traded at 20-years-old and returned six years later as a mature point guard who experienced a lot.
There were some off-the-court issues during Russell’s first tenure, but seeing his growth as a player and a person became evident in recent years. Now in a win-now environment led by Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the former No. 2 overall pick complements the two stars perfectly.
Being traded from the Lakers to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017 played an instrumental part in Russell’s career though. He admits that he came into the league unprofessional, but over time started to grow and learn what it takes to be a professional and credited his former Nets and now Lakers teammate Spencer Dinwiddie for helping him do so, via Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports:
“I came in a little raw still when I was young, when I was 18,” Russell told FOX Sports. “So I was unprofessional, to be honest. And then the older I got, I learned how to be professional.
“I give credit to [newly acquired Lakers teammate] Spencer [Dinwiddie]. When I was traded to Brooklyn, he was there and I saw his preparation, to be honest. I saw how he was a pro and I just kinda put all of that in my bag. And then we went our separate ways. I’ve told him that before. But him, Joe Harris, those two guys were two guys that I just watched. I may not have said anything. But I watched them and I just give credit to them, to be honest.”
Dinwiddie and Russell shared plenty of great moments when they played together in Brooklyn, which made that team fun to watch. Russell played some of his best basketball as a Net, making an All-Star appearance and finishing second in Most Improved Player voting during the 2018-19 season.
It has been a career full of highs and lows for Russell, specifically during trade season. This season showed those same challenges as he found himself in trade rumors again but handled it all professionally. However, Russell is showing his importance to this Lakers team as he is performing exceptionally well offensively in these recent months, and now he has Dinwiddie back by his side for the rest of the year.
