In the Lakers’ first game back from the All-Star break, a 110-93 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, D’Angelo Russell had a pretty impressive game. No, the team outcome wasn’t great, and unfortunately all too familiar. However, individually Russell looked more focused. Maybe his play had something to do with Magic Johnson’s presence and all the movement around the Lakers’ organization recently.
With players like Lou Williams and Marcelo Huertas traded away, a fire may have been lit in Russell. He was open about how difficult the trades were to handle in an interview with reporters after the trade deadline.