D’Angelo Russell had a hard time in the playoffs last season. Since the poor performances in the postseason, the Lakers Nation has not been very kind to him. Moreover, many fans expected Russell to move to another team like the Miami Heat this offseason. However, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to extend his contract for another couple of years. D’Lo Russell has got a player option in his second year. Perhaps the Lakers’ front office might use him as a solid mid-season trade. But it will depend on how he will perform in the initial part of the next regular season.
However, it seems D’Lo Russell is not the only player who must prove himself in the upcoming seasons. Recently, in an interview with former Lakers player Patrick Beverley, D’Angelo Russell spoke candidly about his impression of Jordan Poole. On the podcast Pat Bev Pod, D’Lo mentioned he did not expect Jordan Poole to be so great. In fact, it is not just D’Lo, as not many in the league expected Poole to be as good as he was for the Golden State Warriors.
Jordan Poole Exceeded The Expectations Of D’Lo
The 24-year-old point guard could have been the next face for the Warriors in the post-Stephen Curry era. Instead, the Warriors traded him to the Washington Wizards. It was mainly because of the ugly argument between Poole and Draymond Green last season. However, only time will tell if trading Poole was a good idea for the Golden States Warrior. On the other hand, in the Pat Bev Pod, D’Angelo Russell mentioned earlier he used to think Tyler Herro was better than Jordan Poole. But he didn’t expect Poole to be as good as he was. In fact, Draymond Green told D’Lo Russell that JP has got skills. Jordan Poole impressed everybody with his improvement over the years. Jordan Poole’s average went from 8.8 points to 20.4 points in three years.
With numbers like 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists, Poole was on par with D’Angelo Russell. However, D’Lo might have had a better record for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019. On the other hand, JP signed with the Warriors a contract worth $128 million. Even then, they traded him to the Wizards. Moreover, Poole had become a clutch player for the Warriors. He was scoring 19.5 ppg and from the field was shooting 43.8%. Additionally, JP pulled his team out of many unwinnable situations. On the other hand, Tyler Herro signed a $120 million deal with the Miami Heat. But he can face a similar situation to Poole if complications arise due to Damian Lillard’s situation.
D’Angelo Russell Too Looking For Redemption In The Next Season
Moreover, D’Angelo Russell did perform better in the previous regular season than he did in the postseason. On top of that, fans blamed him for the loss against the eventual champions in the Western Conference Finals. The Denver Nuggets, with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, swept clean the Los Angeles Lakers in the WCF.
Moreover, the series was over in four games. D’Lo Russell’s shooting got worse, and it affected the team in the worst way possible. Hence, Russell’s return to the Lakers was not very successful last season. Russell is under a lot of pressure if he really wants to stay a part of the Los Angeles Lakers.