Lakers News: D’Angelo Russell Waves Off Denver Nuggets Trash Talk Ahead Of Opening Night

Ahead of your Los Angeles Lakers' 2023-24 season opener against the Nuggets on Tuesday, the trash talk that's been pertinent from both teams since their Western Conference Finals bout back in May is about to move from the media to the court.

Starting point guard guard D'Angelo Russell, however, is keeping it away from the media, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic:

D'Angelo Russell on the chatter coming from the Denver side: "Who cares? Next game. One game at a time. I'm the wrong guy to ask that one. Just another team we're trying to get a win against."
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 23, 2023

Russell's comments are clearly a sign of his growth and maturity as a player, as the Ohio State product enters his ninth season.

Similar to the way Jamal Murray said very little about the matter when asked, Russell takes the approach of referring to Denver as "just another" game/team that LA has to play.

Keeping the trash talk separate can definitely allow the players to stay more focused, as rather than taking a more emotional approach to the game, they can keep their sights set on getting a win without any distractions.

Russell additionally mentioning that he's "the wrong guy to ask," suggests that the Lakers definitely do have a lot of chatter going on behind the scenes, and Russell just chooses to tune it out/not participate.

Let's see what fans have to say about Russell's comments:

- "DLO is quickly becoming one of my favorite players/leaders on this team"

- "[Jamal] Murray refused to be led into saying something unnecessary too. The players from BOTH TEAMS know that talk is cheap. Handle it on the court."

- "Sports reporters are the only ones CAPITALIZING OFF THIS. Stop asking the players from BOTH TEAMS."

Evidently, fans are pretty fond of Russell's simple, direct response to the comments. It's safe to say that the Lakers as an organization are too. Staying focused and eliminating distractions ahead of a new season is a must, and definitely improves their odds of finding success down the stretch.

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