Former Lakers Guard D'Angelo Russell Seemingly Takes Shot at LA

The Los Angeles Lakers were very active in this past trade deadline, something many expected. While the massive trade for Luka Dončić caught everyone's attention, the Lakers made a trade a month before that changed their fortunes.

The Lakers dealt their former lottery pick, D'Angelo Russell, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton on Dec. 29.

It was a trade that would see L.A. lose out on offense, but it would be a massive upgrade on the defensive end. As we sit in mid-March, it seems like a win for L.A., as Finney-Smith has been great for the team.

Many expected the Lakers to trade Russell, and he anticipated it. While there were some great moments with Russell, the bad outweighed the good, and there were many of them, especially in the playoffs.

Russell got some revenge on his former team on Monday night when the Nets defeated the Lakers in Brooklyn. After the game, Russell spoke with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and took a slight dig of L.A., calling his time there a bit traumatizing.

“It’s great. I would never take it for granted, coming from where I came from. Obviously, I was a little traumatized there. To be here and get the opportunity to just be me where there’s familiarity as well is just icing on the cake. I’m at the point in my career where I’m not going out and scoring 25 points every night and wowing with numbers. It’s a point where I’m trying to gravitate towards doing it the right way, and how I can contribute to winning is my priority," said Russell.

Russell spent the first two years of his career in L.A. before he was dealt to Brooklyn in 2018. Five years later, he was dealt to L.A. in a trade that changed the Lakers' fortunes at the time.

His time in L.A. was special, especially in the 2023-24 season. He averaged 18.0 points on 45.6 percent shooting and 41.5 percent from three while setting a Lakers record for 3-pointers in a season with 226.

However, Russell failed to be a difference-maker for L.A. in the playoffs.

Russell is happy where he is now, with no pressure to win. L.A., on the other hand, is looking to pursue their 18th title in franchise history. Everyone got what they wanted at the end of it.

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