D'Angelo Russell is his own worst enemy

At face value, Russell's comments are those of a player enjoying a bigger role. However, it's not too much of a stretch to see how Lakers fans could take his words as a slight. After all, during his tenure with the Lakers, Russell was a third option, often tasked with providing supplementary ball-handling, playmaking and scoring behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Even if Russell's comments are supposed to be harmless, he's essentially telling teams that he needs to be the leading star on a team for him to be effective. That's fine if Russell wants to spend his career on middling teams that are either rebuilding or have no immediate championship aspirations. Yet, if Russell wants to contend for a championship, his comments could hinder how front offices around the league view him.

It's one thing to light up a game when the offense is flowing through you. It's another to accept your role and shine within the confines of a system. Russell has struggled to stay within the margins during stops with the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Russell is in the final year of his two-year, $36 million contract. He's going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. It will be interesting to see what teams show an interest in acquiring him, especially if Russell wants a role similar to what he has in Brooklyn. If he's lucky, Fernandez will want to keep him around for the foreseeable future. 

Otherwise, Russell's comments could quickly come back to haunt him. For whatever reason, at 28 years old, Russell continues to be his own worst enemy.