Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is buying into a changed role under new head coach J.J. Redick, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Price notes that Redick said before the season that he wants Russell to have a “career year.” However, that may not show up on the stat sheet as Anthony Davis is serving as the centerpiece of the offense and Austin Reaves is handling the ball more often.
Russell had his best game of the season Friday at Toronto, posting 19 points, six assists and three rebounds. But his usage rate has fallen to 16.8%, which is sixth on the team, after being at 22.2% last season. He’s operating less frequently in the pick-and-roll as Redick has him playing off the ball and spotting up for jump shots.
“He’s bought into what we’re trying to do,” Redick said. “He recognizes that his pick-and-roll usage will be down. And what he’s told me and what I think he has certainly lived out in reality is that he just wants to win. He wants to be on the winning team. He’s been bought in. We’ve had no issue sort of with anything with him. He’s gonna get it going. We’re gonna figure out ways to hopefully maximize all our guys. It’s very early. I’m not worried about D-Lo.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers declined their third-year option on Jalen Hood-Schifino, but he may still have a place in the team’s long-term plans, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). The decision was made to create more financial flexibility for the offseason, and the organization wants Hood-Schifino to continue developing his game in the G League. “I still believe in Jalen,” Redick said. “We haven’t given up on him.”
- James Harden insists he’s not too old to be carrying the Clippers at age 35, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Harden is averaging a career-high 6.2 turnovers per game, but he told reporters that’s a result of high usage rather than fatigue. “You seen the usage rate, it’s going to happen. Like turnovers are going to happen,” he said. “I try to, but some of the passes that I thread, a lot of them are successful and some of ’em aren’t. So just trying to find a balance of when to throw and when not to.”
- Stephen Curry missed his third straight game tonight with a sprained left ankle, but the Warriors guard was able to go through his normal shooting routine before the contest, so it appears he’s close to returning, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Harden struggling with turn overs?
Well I never…
Yeah JHS is in the Lakers long term plan about as much as JHT was
JHT showed he makes poor decisions. JHS hasn’t showed much of his hand publicly yet.
LAL should have traded the JHS pick or taken Jaquez. Bron does not like playing with rookies unless they are related.
Dalton is one of the oldest rookies so a bit of an exception.
The franchise has been an embarrassment since Dr. Jerry passed. Yeah I know they won a bubble championship, still embarrassing.
What other rookies have been related?
Warriors could have used Curry’s ball handling last night. With Curry and Melton out they had only 1 other ball handler and Podz fouled out. Almost cost them the game.
It worked out for Kuminga … confidence building moment … it was desperately needed because you could feel the tension between Kerr and Kuminga. He was making too making mental mistakes in the game …. It worked out at the end…
Didn’t understand why they didn’t bring Davis back in the 4th quarter when Rockets started attacking the basket.
MIchol , good observations. I’d add that it was confidence-building in the sense that Kerr went to Kuminga in the crunch when there were no other options available (Podz and Draymond had fouled out, and Wiggins wasn’t feeling it), but it was the opposite in other regards.
First, Kuminga knows that Kerr, despite multiple public statements to the contrary, does not intend to start him, including when Steph returns.
Second, Kerr does not intend to give him the necessary minutes. Kuminga had a sensational 1st half: 14 pts in only 11 mins, 2/3 from deep, etc. But, his playing time was further reduced in the 2nd half, where, despite our inability to score, Kerr ran 0 plays for him. I counted 4 touches in his 9 minutes of 2nd half play, despite the obvious mismatches we took advantage of in OT. Basically, he’s told to stand in the corner and watch while we give up a 30 point lead.
The stat-line shows JK played 20 mins in the 4 regulation quarters. As you say, his body language on the sidelines showed his intense frustration.
The situation is not sustainable. Draymond continues to declare in the national media (again 2 days ago) that anything less than an All-Star appearance is a failure for Kuminga. The GM and owner say they want him to earn a huge contract and enable him to do so. But the head coach doesn’t believe Kuminga is a starter, and plays him 22 minutes per game.
Kerr is on the same page as Dunleavy and FO. At this point, we need to trust Kerr and the process. Can not panic trade and can not make this another toxic locker room problem like Klay and the Punch. Man, I wish he would have taken that $150m contract.
Michol,
Respectfully, the problem isn’t whether Kerr is on the same as Dunleavy and Lakob (a point on which you I can agree to disagree), but whether Kerr is on the same page as Kuminga.
The stakes for Kuminga are huge – 10’s of millions of dollars. Kuminga (and agent) know that bench players don’t get max deals coming off the bench. If Kuminga feels that he’s not going to be given the opportunity he feels that he was promised, and if he no longer trusts Kerr, that may play out badly in the short-term for all parties.
At this stage, I would not trust that Kerr on his own can save the relationship. Maybe some involvement by ownership/FO can help..
I am not disagreeing with you. We all know their history. We just need to give them a bit more time to work it out. Let’s not panic yet especially with the team off to a good start. I do believe that FO and Kerr are talking daily.
Very well put.
You wrote an excellent post a couple of weeks ago about GSW failures in developing young players. IMO, misalignment between HC and FO has been a factor.
I differ from you in my optimism for a resolution. Lakob badly wants to keep JK, mainly because he’s part of a post-Steph core. But Kerr’s job is to win now, not to develop players, and he dislikes JK’s lack of deference. Still, as you say, those kinds of differences should be workable.
But the real problem is that Kerr has lost JK’s trust. We saw the resentment in JK’s comments about being text’d by Kerr about not starting. JK feels Kerr doesn’t appreciate his game or respect him personally. As JK said last week, the last few days show that nothing has changed. Solving problems this deep take a commitment from both sides.
Kerr has coached the Dubs to 4 ‘Chips. He signed on for another 2 years with the assurance that he has ultimately authority for all coaching decisions. I don’t see Kerr changing for Jonathan Kuminga.