"Ya'll ain't seen nothin' yet." - D'Angelo Russell

There are many reasons to believe why D'Angelo Russell will be the next star for the Lakers and one of the best young guards in this league. You can legit say that out of the 2015 Draft, Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, and Kristaps Porzingis all have star potential (not to discredit Emmanuel Mudiay)

1. Growth/Composure - Ever since Luke Walton was introduced as the head coach and Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac was drafted by the Lakers, you can see the steps that Russell is taking in growing, showing more moral support to his teammates and the coaching staff. According to Walton, Russell has been gradually keeping in touch with all the coaches and has been in the gym atleast every week day and night. So you can see the maturity issues begin to form into the leader of this team.

2. Multiple Offensive Moves - D'Angelo may not be one of the fastest guards, but he's definitely one of the most craftiness. Unlike most other point guards in this league, Russell is able to use his size and length for post work. He has already established himself at one of the best post up guards in this league. Not only that, Russell is a crafty dribbler and is taking more strides into his dribble game where he doesn't cause turnovers from unorthodox dribbling. Russell has even developed an unpredicting stepback jumper.

3. Improving Consistency - From time to time, you would start to see the dominance and consistency Russell had in himself when is able to play his game rather than take a step back to someone. Under Luke Walton, it will be a more freestyle offense with ball movement and it appears it would all be ran under D'Angelo Russell trying to score or set up his teammates. We know D'Angelo can keep hot streaks for a long time.

4. Brandon Ingram - The second player who will likely reach star status for the Lakers is Brandon Ingram. Ingram has the skills and the length to be a very good player and could likely end up in a few Allstar games like Russell. So let's say Ingram and Russell both become stars, that gives another player opposing teams has to worry about, therefore releasing some load off of Russell at times and also Ingram at times.

5. Support from the Stars - Remember when Stephen A. Smith chewed out D'Angelo Russell? Basically saying his career is already done after his snafu with Nick Young, nobody would want to be around him and nobody will ever trust him again? Well obviously that statement is not true. During the Team USA training camp, Russell received high praise from some of the stars he went up against like Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, and Carmelo Anthony. Russell also received recognition from coach Pop about his basketball IQ and ability to hang with other stars.

6. Great at Other Aspects - We all know that D'Angelo Russell is a good scorer but people tend to forget that Russell is also one of the better rebounders at his position and we all know that D'Angelo is a very skilled passer who never really got to showcase his assist rating due to a poor team field goal percentage and alot of isolation plays.

7. Excellent Passer - One reason that D'Angelo Russell had a really low assist average last year was low spacing and alot of isolation plays for Kobe and Jordan Clarkson. So in a more free flowing offense (to be expected), we feel that Russell will be averaging atleast close to 6 assist per game this season. Though he views himself as a pass first point guard, we want Russell to balance himself out with scoring and passing.

8. Must Improve: Bulk and Defense - One fact that seems to fly over most Laker fans head is that D'Angelo Russell led all rookies in steals. His anticipation in the passing lane appears to already be good but Russell still has a problem with letting opposing guards just slip by him. He is really working on trying to keep guards in front of him defensively, as seen in the team USA training camp.

9. Mentor Kobe - Kobe Bryant all year long has had praise for D'Angelo Russell and has been constantly working with him on extra assets to his game. Even after retirement, Kobe has expressed his interest in continuing to work with Russell in the offseason and some during the next season. He says he will still be giving Russell advice on what he needs to work on.

10. Chemistry - D'Angelo Russell is taking strides in regaining trust from his teammates and it appears that he still has alot of trust and is continuously building chemistry with Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle. Larry Nance Jr. still believes in him, Brandon Ingram has expressed his excitement playing with him and Ivica Zubac absolutely loves him. So if the Lakers continues to build that chemistry with these young players, we can see something special.



