D’Angelo Russell is seated on the padded home bench in an empty Chase Center. Morning shootaround ended 30 minutes earlier. He’s lightly dribbling a basketball while taking a mental dive into his twisted NBA past. The bouncing stops. His arms are needed for this next story.



Russell, from the deep right corner, points across the court, out toward the left wing. He’s tracing the steps he’d take, as a Lakers rookie, when coach Byron Scott pulled him out of games. Scott and Russell famously clashed, an impatient coach unable to guide an immature 19-year-old.



When Scott yanked Russell, he’d take the long way back to the bench. Using his right hand, he’s tracing the looping route — from the left wing, meandering down toward the opposite baseline before finally curling to the deepest part of his team’s sideline. It wasn’t subtle. It was done with an obvious purpose.



“So I didn’t have to shake the...