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2015 NBA Summer League: D’Angelo Russell Validated Being Picked No.2 by the Los Angeles Lakers

By James Fitzgerald

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When the Los Angeles Lakers decided to defy the Mock Drafts and select Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell instead of Duke big man Jahlil Okafor, it was viewed as a brash move.

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People speculated that the Lakers took Russell as a bargaining chip they could use to get an established big man like Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, or that the Lakers were highly confident they would be able to scoop up a free agent big man like LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love.

None of those things took place during the free agency period. The Lakers were only able to to snatch up Roy Hibbert in a trade.

However, the Lakers look like they knew what they were doing all along in selecting the 6-foot-5 point guard. The Lakers look to have a future star on their hands that is going to be able to receive the torch from Lakers’ legend Kobe Bryant.

D’Angelo Russell gives the Lakers a cornerstone to their rebuilding process because of his court vision and shooting ability.

(Photo: Matthew OHaren, USA TODAY Sports)

He along with NBA All-Rookie First Team shooting guard Jordan Clarkson, give L.A. potentially one of the best young backcourts in all of NBA.

Russell and Clarkson were working out their backcourt chemistry in the Las Vegas Summer League and looked good before getting eliminated Wednesday night at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks 88-86.

Granted, the Lakers have a  1-3 record in Vegas, but when you saw Russell on the court alongside Jordan Clarkson, you saw the future.

D’Angelo Russell showed that he can score, rebound, and assists the basketball during the Summer League.

Russell averaged 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the four games he used to get his feet wet.

The stats don’t truly show how he impacted the games by dictating the pace and making highlight reel passes.

Russell showed in this Summer League that the Lakers were not wrong for taking him over Jahlil Okafor.

When you think about the current state of the NBA you have to have solid perimeter play especially at the point.

The Lakers point guard situation was average at best last season with Jeremy Lin and Jordan Clarkson pretty much playing point guard by committee.

Russell solves the Lakers’ point guard issues once and for all, and gives L.A. the opportunity to play Clarkson at the two-guard spot with Kobe Bryant at the small forward.

D’Angelo Russell already has the mentality he is going to need in order to succeed in Los Angeles. He wants to be great and is willing to take the brow beating that is going to come from Kobe.

Now Russell gets to go up against Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul,  Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe and Tony Parker in the Western Conference.

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    • The Los Angeles Lakers needed a high caliber point guard to be able to go up against that list of point guards, and that is not even counting what the Eastern Conference is going to throw at Russell.

    Also, Byron Scott does well with young point guards when you think about the work he did with Chris Paul as the Hornets head coach, as well as helping in the development of Kyrie Irving for a brief time in Cleveland.

    The logic is sound for why the Lakers took Russell, and time will show that they were not crazy for taking him over the low post presence Jahlil Okafor.

    Las Vegas has given the Lakers some early validation for their choice and Lakers fans should be excited about what they are going to see in the years to come.

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