The Los Angeles Lakers have not been getting the best return of investment with their No.2 draft pick D'Angelo Russell. The point guard has struggled this season which led to his benching for a few games while Larry Nance Jr and Lou Williams got the go-ahead instead. However, an injury to Jordan Clarkson opened up a spot in the starting lineup and Russell appears to be taking advantage of it.
Clarkson has missed the past two games with an ankle injury and according to CBSSports.com, he could miss a third as he is doubtful for Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. In his place, Russell has been getting the start and taking advantage of the increase in playing time. Against the San Antonio Spurs, Russell had one of his best nights with 24 points on 9-of-23 shooting. That came after the point guard put up 23 points in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Those two games showed why Russell is being deemed as the future of the franchise and why he deserves more playing time. According to Kobe Bryant, he pushed head coach Byron Scott to let the younger guys play more and it worked.
I think the game in Minnesota gave him a great amount of confidence," Bryant said, via ESPN.com. "He trusts what he can do. Tonight, he came up and he just picked up where he left off. Now it's just about doing it consistently."
The improvement of Russell could have a major impact on the future of Clarkson. According to the Los Angeles Times, Clarkson is setting himself up for a nice pay day as a restricted free agent next offseason, but it remains to be seen if it will come from the Lakers. Thanks to the Gilbert Arenas provision, the Lakers can offer more money than any other team, but will they do so with Russell playing better and holes to fill elsewhere on the roster?
According to salary-cap expert Larry Coon via the Times, the Lakers have enough flexibility to make Clarkson a priority in the offseason. They will have Bryant along with Roy Hibbert off the books which means they have just $26.3 million committed to seven players for the 2016-17 season. That makes them contenders for Clarkson. The Lakers could also be creating even more space if they successfully get a trade deal for Nick Young or someone like Williams. According to Bleacher Report, both players could be available in trades, but their contracts will make moves difficult. The Lakers would like to continue freeing space up and trade deals mid-season will help.
For now, Bryant is urging Scott to let guys like Julius Randle, Russell and Clarkson play as much as possible. According to ESPN.com, Bryant and Scott discussed their roles on the team which led to an increase in minutes. Randle did not return to his starting role, but still got 23 minutes against the Houston Rockets. Russell told the media that he is thankful for the opportunity and he understands gaining the trust of Scott is a priority.
"You've got to build that relationship with your coach and know that you're a rookie coming into this league but you didn't get here on accident," Russell said, via ESPN.com. "So once I get that trust with my coach, I know I'll feel like I'll have that opportunity more and more."
