The REAL Reason Why The Lakers Should Have KEPT D'Angelo Russell & Julius Randle (Ft. NBA Mistakes)

The Lakers had D’Angelo Russell & Julius Randle, but got rid of them. Now D’Angelo is an NBA All Star on the Nets and Randle is averaging over 20. This is why the Lakers should have kept them. #NBA #Lakers Instagram- @MJ2K_ALLDAY

Twitter- @mj2kallday

I think it’s important to realize that hindsight is 20/20. We see D’Angelo Russell becoming an All-Star, lighting the league up scoring 27 in a quarter and we see Julius Randle average over 20 and 8 and it’s easy to say that the Lakers messed up and should have held on to them. It’s one thing to have it come out of nowhere and it’s another to let these guys go even if there was this potential. And there were clear signs that these two could become this good. The Lakers want to win as soon as possibly without waiting and letting players develop. They want players to be good right away or they are a bust. Don’t make the mistake the Lakers made and let’s get that 7% higher than Lonzo’s free throw percentage. So please subscribe.

The Lakers traded away D’Angelo Russell with Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the 2017 draft. The Lakers head office was great in 2016 and signed Timofey Mozgov to a valuable 4 year $64 million contract. That was sarcasm. Brook Lopez was an expiring contract and the Lakers were thinking of the 2018 free agent class of LeBron, Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins and so they needed to get rid of Mozgov. DLo was the sweetener to the deal so the Nets would accept the deal. DLo had spent only two seasons of his rookie contract in LA. The Lakers could have kept him for two more years under a team option meaning getting him for only 5-7 million a year. Julius Randle walked away in free agency of 2018 because the Lakers were not willing to tie up any of their cap space for future seasons and opted to sign players to 1 year deals to keep their options open alongside LeBron.

Let’s talk about Russell first. D’Angelo Russell was in and out of the starting lineup in his rookie season and that was also Kobe’s farewell season. He averaged 13.2 points per game and 3.3 assists in 28.2 minutes a game, starting in 48 games, playing in 80 games. He had his iconic ice in his veins celebration when he scored 39 with clutch shots in a win against the Nets. The Lakers went 17-65 that season. Dark times, dark times. It was Russell’s time to shine in his second season. His usage rate jumped up from 24.1 to 26.6 and so did his points to 15.6 per game and 4.8 assists. He shot the same 41% from the field and 35% from 3. He was a starter for the entire season, but still only played 28 minutes a game. Yet there were glimpses of Russell’s potential. He had 40 in a game against the Cavs and in his last 10 games with the Lakers, he averaged 20 points and 5.4 assists while his minutes jumped up to 36 a game which is very similar to what he’s averaging now. He was shooting 42% from the field and 36% from 3, once again not particular too efficient, but he was only 20. Did I mention that he’s a 6’ 5” lefty point guard? Russell seemed like the perfect build for your modern day point guard. Trading him for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick to get rid of a contract got rid of him at his lowest value. That 27th pick did turn out to be Kuzma, but they did not get enough back in that trade.

The Lakers were going to draft Lonzo Ball in the draft. A pairing of Lonzo and Russell would have made sense. Two tall guards, one that likes to move the ball and one that likes to score. It would have been a good rotation as well for the Lakers and would be similar to how the Nets have a rotation of guards in Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LaVert.

That brings me to Julius Randle. Julius Randle is an interesting case because he did play 3 full seasons in LA. Paired up with Lonzo who was a floor general and a playmaker, Randle got more looks and better looks as his usage jumped from 21.4 to 25.3 while his field goal percentage jumped from 49% to 56%. He averaged 16.1 points a game and Randle’s minutes were inconsistent because he kept going back and forth from starting to the bench because Luke Walton couldn’t figure out a consistent lineup. LaVar Ball was right. Randle deserved more minutes in the season and you could see him playing hard with no real option in front of him other than Larry Nance. It was pretty awesome that Randle came back against the Lakers and talked trash to the coaching staff the whole time. He scored 35 that game. If you look at Randle’s last 20 games with the Lakers in which he played 31.7 minutes a game, he averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds a game with 3 assists and 55% from the field, almost exactly what he’s averaging now. It was clear that Randle had become more aggressive instead of waiting for opportunities and that’s what the Lakers had been waiting for. The worst part of it all, Julius Randle wanted to stay in LA with the Lakers. But instead they lost him and a valuable asset.

lakers,dangelo russell,d'angelo,nba,d'angelo russell nets,julius randle,lonzo ball,dangelo russell lakers,lakers nets,lakers playoffs,d'angelo russell,dangelo russell star,julius randle pelicans,dangelo russell three,dangelo nets,dangelo career high,dangelo lakers,randle lakers,lonzo randle,dangelo russell highlights,dangelo russell vs lakers,julius randle highlights,d'angelo russell lakers highlights,mj2k allday,heat check,jxmyhighroller,espn,