Former Lakers Star Now With Mavericks Takes Massive Shot at LA

The Los Angeles Lakers have had themselves an eventful offseason. It may have gotten off to a slow start, but it all led up to the moment fans had been waiting for — Luka Doncic’s contract extension.

More news: NBA All-Star Wants to Join Lakers or Clippers in Free Agency

The 26-year-old superstar inked a massive three-year, $165 million deal with the Lakers on Saturday. He is now and will likely be the superstar guard of the future for the purple and gold. 

The Lakers have come a long way at the guard spot. They've had a ton of hits and misses in that position since the departure of Kobe Bryant. One of the Lakers' former guards, D’Angelo Russell, falls under both categories, oddly enough. 

The Lakers drafted Russell with the No.2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He spent a total of five seasons in Los Angeles throughout two different stints. He was undoubtedly a polarizing player for the Lakers. 

It was clear that he felt a certain way towards the organization towards the end of his time in LA. He made those feelings known in a recent interview with NBA Hall of Famer, Dwyane Wade. 

Russell appeared in his podcast, Wy Network, and seemed to disrespect the Lakers, insinuating they are not a 'professional' organization compared to one of his former teams, the Brooklyn Nets. 

“The organization of Brooklyn is different,” Russell said. “It’s unlike any other. The performance, team, coach, everything about Brooklyn is different than what you would expect. And I’ve been around the league, where I came from the Lakers, where the structure is not the same.

“I always approached the game to where I was nonchalant manner, and I felt like I could just wing it. They taught me how to be a professional, how to sleep, how to eat, how to recover.”