Many would argue that Emmanuel Mudiay was a far superior NBA prospect heading into the 2014-15 basketball season than D’Angelo Russell, so how did the Ohio State product leap his peer, and get taken with the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft?
Why Was He Drafted?
How many freshmen can come out and average over 19 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds in a season? Russell was the third first-year player to accomplish such a feat, joining Danny Ainge and Kenny Anderson in the history books. The 13th ranked High School prospect in the class of 2014, Russell hit the ground running in Columbus, averaging 18 points per game over his first five contests.
As the season went on, Russell’s game only got stronger, as he showcased an ability to knockdown the deep ball (he converted 41-percent of his threes on the season), disrupt defenses with penetration, and make all kinds of crazy ridiculous passes.
https://vine.co/v/OIDjZtqhvzl
And:
https://vine.co/v/Ojr5rwWAli3
When you’re a 6-foot-5 lefty point guard who can score, efficiently at that, from just about anywhere on the court, make great passes, get into the lane, and play above average defense you draw a ton of attention. And considering Russell played on a Buckeyes team devoid of game changing talent, defenses keyed in hard on him. This didn’t matter, as Russell went on to score double-figures in all but two of the 35 games he played in last season.
Russell isn’t exactly an explosive athlete, so comparisons to guys like Russell Westbrook are misguided. However, he has the patience to allow the game to come to him, and with a seemingly high basketball IQ to match his motor, he’s going to be one of the most fun rookies to keep track of moving forward.
How Does He Fit in with the Lakers?
Like plenty of the teams we’ve covered in this Rookie Countdown series, the Lakers need help almost everywhere. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as much as you may love Kobe Bryant, and as great of a career as he’s had, he isn’t exactly the type of player you build around anymore. In fact, there isn’t a single player on this team who you could apply that thought process to.
Ideally, Bryant is at the stage of his career where he’s won and accomplished enough and he can just accept his role this season as a mentor for Russell, and last year’s rookies Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle. Sure, Mamba may still have a few 30-point games in him, and some nights where he’s still unstoppable. Don’t forget, Cable, I mean Wizards’ Michael Jordan wasn’t trash, but at the end of the day he, and Kobe in 2016, aren’t guys you can build a winner around.
With all of that said, bringing in Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass, to join with Clarkson and hopefully a healthy Randle gives this Lakers team a lot more talent than they had last season. I don’t expect the Lakers to compete for anything meaningful, but allowing Russell (and Clarkson and Randle) to play in a more competitive environment should help them get acclimated to NBA basketball a little bit sooner.
Even though everyone wants to talk about Bryant and what he does or doesn’t have left in the tank, we should be focusing on this team’s young core. The seventh pick in the 2014 draft, Randle was an absolute bull in college, where he averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for Kentucky. With the ability to back his defenders down and also face up and hit from mid-range/take them off the dribble, Randle’s a little bit of a tweener, but should make for a perfect power forward next to Hibbert, who is an elite rim protector and clogger of the paint. Randle and Russell should make for some great two-man play over the next few years, as both are great passers and have very good awareness on the offensive end. Let’s hope for a lot of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWLVOO_nwL4
Where we may be a little concerned moving forward is the fit between Russell and Clarkson, as both can play both guard positions, yet neither totally fit the mold of pass-first point guards. This may turn out fine for the Lakers, being able to play two combo guards who are strong scorers and above average athletes. I just don’t know if they’re too similar in a bad way.
When the Lakers drafted Russell I figured it might force them to move Clarkson to a bench role, but for this roster that’s still a ways away from competing, it’s hard to take a guy who averaged 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists per game as a rookie and put him on the bench.
What Should We Expect Out of Him?
I think the only thing that will hold Russell back this season will be coach Byron Scott, who still isn’t committing to starting the rookie.
It could be difficult for Russell to find shots considering he’ll undoubtedly share the ball with Williams, Nick Young, Clarkson and Bryant, but maybe that’ll help him hone his point guard skills and emerge as the facilitator on this team full of score-first wings.
We saw Russell struggle a bit in Summer League protecting the ball (he turned the ball over 5.2 times per game), but his overall statline of 11.8 points, 3.2 assists, and 5.2 rebounds on 38-percent shooting (an uggggly 19-percent from three) wasn’t too bad. I’m going to predict that in 30 minutes per game, Russell averages 11 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds, turning the ball over between three and four times per game, but spacing the floor and knocking down 1.5 threes (at around 35-percent, not too bad) in the process.
