Magic Johnson to D'Angelo Russell: 'Work on leadership, defence'
Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson wants second-year point guard D'Angelo Russell to work on his leadership and defence, among other attributes, ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season. Russell, drafted No. 2 overall by the Lakers in 2015, has shown flashes of a future All-Star but is yet to establish himself as a trustworthy floor general for the Purple & Gold.
Defence remains a major issue for Russell, who finished 84th among 91 qualified point guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus during the 2016-17 season. The Lakers finished the regular season dead last in Opp. Field Goal Percentage (.483), Points Differential (-6.9) and Defensive Efficiency.
"I want to see D'Angelo make better decisions. And also be a better leader. I want to see him coming into the leadership role, because we know he can score the basketball. Now, you have to be a better defender, a guy who can lead his teammates and do a better job of that," Johnson told radio station in LA (Listen: ESPNLA with Marcellus & Kelvin).
Of course, there's no guarantee that Russell would be on the Lakers roster next season. Los Angeles own the No. 2 pick during next month's NBA Draft and are expected to select highly touted point guard Lonzo Ball out of UCLA. In such a scenario, Russell could become expendable unless the Lakers coaching staff led by Luke Walton look to invest in a backcourt of Ball and the former Ohio State standout.
Magic wants Russell to 'come back in great shape'
After taking over the Lakers, Johnson stressed that players who enter training camp with over seven or eight percent body fat "won’t see the court" next season. During the podcast, Johnson said Russell needed to put in the hard yards during the offseason. "We want him to, just like the other, come back in great shape, world class physical condition. They've all been working hard over the summer to get ready for the new season."
It's worth noting that Lakers coach Luke Walton played Russell at the two-guard spot to close out the 2016-17 regular season. Perhaps, it was with the intention to clear the 1 spot for Ball or another young point guard. Many believe that Russell is best suited to the role of a shooting guard.
D'Angelo Russell averaged 15.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds during his second season with the Lakers. The previous Lakers front office, led by Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss, had resisted going through with a D'Angelo Russell trade to Sacramento Kings when DeMarcus Cousins was made available in February.
