D’Angelo Russell reportedly denied to play for Lithuanian national team: 'We aim to achieve success using our own talent pool'

After expressing interest in competing for the Lithuanian national team on the international stage, it looks like D'Angelo Russell's desire to do so will remain just that. The Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) reportedly has not taken any steps to neutralize the current Los Angeles Lakers point guard, nor does it have plans to do so, as confirmed by the federation itself.

"Recent media speculation in Lithuania about Russell potentially joining the team lacks any factual basis. The LKF has neither initiated a naturalization process nor communicated with Russell on this matter," The federation said.

Why Russell expressed interest in the first place

Russell suddenly associated himself with the Lithuanian men's basketball team because of his wife, Laura Ivaniukas, who is of Lithuanian descent, and two of their children. The parents of Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis presented the idea of D'Lo competing for the country to the president of Lithuania, specifically Gitanasa Nauseda.

If the LKF had supported the idea, Russell would have had to be legally naturalized in Lithuania to compete for the country at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But President Nauseda has yet to consider initiating any of those plans, and the LFK has not worked on the 28-year-old's papers.

"The President's institution is aware of the player and his connection to Lithuania, but formal citizenship procedures haven't been started yet," the President's representative told Rokas Pakenas of 15min.

Aside from the fact that citizenship procedures have yet to be completed, the Lithuanian national team program is also focused on developing young and local talent, contrary to recruiting NBA players like Russell, which is why they're not going the extra mile of naturalizing American-born players. 

"The basketball-related decisions are handled by the coaching staff, led by head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis, and the national team program manager, Linas Kleiza. Their approach is clear: we aim to achieve success using our own talent pool. This is the right path, in my opinion. However, this issue goes beyond basketball," said LKF President Mindaugas Balciunas.

Why Russell has the desire to compete for Lithuania

Despite expressing his interest in competing for Lithuania via social media, particularly Instagram, D'Lo hasn't expressed his desire to do so publicly. But to be fair to him, it's hard to blame Russell for wanting to do it, especially since he probably knows he'll never be considered to suit up for the United States Men's basketball team at the Olympics.

Competing in the Olympics basketball tournament must be a dream for most of these NBA players, but most don't actually get the chance to do so. That's why it seems like the veteran point guard is trying to find a loophole to play on the international stage, especially after he just watched his current teammates, such as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rui Hachimura (for Japan), do it last summer.

In addition to the honor of playing on the international stage, competing for the Lithuanian national team is also one way Russell can make a profit, which is an opportunity that won't come around again in the future.

Unfortunately for Russell, though, it seems these plans remain stagnant. However, there's still a lot of time until the Olympics, so who knows what can happen in four years?