In February, the Los Angeles Lakers traded Russell Westbrook and a future first-round draft pick, and in return, they acquired D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley.
The trade turned around their season, and it also marked something of a homecoming for Russell, who spent his first two seasons with the Purple and Gold.
He is more mature and wiser than he was during his first stint in L.A. during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, and he has played a key role in the team going up 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinals over the Golden State Warriors.
Prior to being traded back to the Lakers, Russell spent a few seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he feels he was “held back” while there (h/t Lakers Daily).
“How much am I enjoying this?” Russell told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I felt like I was held back there, honestly. I just kind of had to be the third option. Some nights, I was a little more aggressive and was kind of being held back. So to be in a position now where I can kind of thrive and be aggressive and it gets guys going, and where the team reflects off of anybody with that type of energy, it’s fun.”
The Lakers need players such as Russell and Austin Reaves to take the pressure off LeBron James while lessening his workload. It has played into Russell’s hands, as he has found the ball in his hands a good deal of the time.
So far this spring, he has had by far the best postseason of his career. In L.A.’s 30-point win on Saturday, he scored 21 points on 8-of-13 overall shooting and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
If the team is to win the NBA championship next month, Russell will need to continue to play freely and efficiently.
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Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire