The Los Angeles Lakers might have been counting on D’Angelo Russell as part of their future and rebuild, but a video of him filming Nick Young while asking him questions, alleging he cheated on his fiancee Iggy Azalea might eventually deteriorate into the team giving up on him.
We’re not there yet, but at the moment, it seems like most of the players on the Lakers are isolating Russell, seen as a snitch, although some think it’s just a prank that went in the wrong direction, and at some point it’ll blow over. A video surfaced last week showing Russell videotaping Young and asking him questions about being with other women. It’s not quite clear how the video got from Russell to a Twitter account that published it (although it’s not that difficult to guess considering things like the Fappening go on) but it hasn’t helped relationships in the locker room, as the Lakers are about to complete the worst season in franchise history.
It seems like the appearance of the video has been the main issue in the Lakers locker room for a number of days, and has created a rift between Russell and a number of Lakers players, viewing him as a snitch. Some sources claim that no one would sit with him in a recent breakfast, and on another instance he walked into the locker room and sat down next to Lou Williams, who go up and walked away. Obviously these are the mysteriously named sources telling these stories, so this might not be true, but there’s definitely something going on in the Lakers locker room with Russell at the center of it, not in a good way.
Via ESPN: In the video, Russell asks Young at one point, “You was 30 and she was 19?” referencing Young’s age and the age of another woman that Young said that he met in a nightclub. “What about Amber Rose?” Russell later says, mentioning another celebrity. “No, she knows my girl” Young is recorded as saying. Later in the conversation, while apparently still recording, Russell is heard telling Young, “I’m glad you told my video all that.” “Huh?” Young says, turning his face toward Russell before the video cuts off.
Now this might be a prank Russell pulled on Young that turned out for the worst. But in a team that isn’t filled with too good of a chemistry and trust for each other, this is a killer blow in a season which was Russell’s first in the NBA and didn’t go as planned, getting some weird treatment from head coach Byron Scott, who seemed more busy chastising and criticizing him in the media than actually trying to improve him as a player.
The 15-59 Lakers have Russell and Young both on contract for next season, along with Lou Williams, Julius Randle, Brandon Bass, Larry Nance Jr. and Antonio Brown. The focus of the offseason was going to be re-signing Jordan Clarkson and trying to get their hands on the best free agents available, firstly Kevin Durant. But if Russell really burnt every possible bridge with that video, the Lakers might be forced to trade a player they took with the second overall pick.