Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is demonising veteran Dennis Schroder, a former colleague, by using the same media that once blamed him for his own downfall, even as he rebuilds his reputation with more than respectable performances.
Russell criticises Schroder’s friendship with Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, saying it contributed to his performance in the 2023 NBA Playoffs. a role more along the lines of Derek Fisher’s with L.A. than his preferred aggressive scoring role.
It takes time to establish rapport in every kind of connection, regardless of the circumstances. or to develop a relationship, as Ham puts it. However, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, he feels that his relationship with Russell is “in a great place.
We have wonderful discussions’, Ham says. Superb text conversations following games. Our in-game discussions while playing. It’s difficult. For this reason, the expression is called “building a relationship.
And yeah, [Schroder] is someone I love and care about,” he admits, responding directly to Russell’s insinuations. “[Schroder] is a [heck of a] player. But just trying to learn [Russell] on the fly and figure things out.
Ham and Schroder’s relationship goes back to at least 2013.
At time, Ham was entering his third season as an assistant coach. However, it was his first with the Atlanta Hawks. Schroder had just been selected 17th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Hawks.
Before parting ways, they would spend five more seasons with Atlanta. Ham moved to the Midwest to work as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. In exchange for Carmelo Anthony and a first-round selection, Schroder was moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The two had several chances to create the kind of relationship that Russell desired during that five years. With the Hawks, Schroder participated in four postseason runs and 386 games overall. Playing 452 games and going on five postseason campaigns, he received mentoring from Ham in various capacities. Russell, in contrast, has spent one postseason run and played in 95 games under Ham—just 5% of the experiences he enjoyed with Schroder.
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