Perk: I would trade D’Angelo Russell for Christmas-scented candles & Christmas lights! 😐 | NBA Today

Perk: I would trade D’Angelo Russell for Christmas-scented candles & Christmas lights! 😐 | NBA Today
NBA Today’s Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike, Becky Hammon and Brian Windhorst discuss the Los Angeles Lakers’ struggles.
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So 251 and N for le Lebron last night that’s one assist shy of a of a triple double and we get night looks like this from LeBron it feels like almost every night and we keep saying it’s incredible that he’s playing in year 21 at this

Level so I guess perk my question is do you feel like the Lakers are letting LeBron down with the way he’s been playing I I wouldn’t say the organization I would say dham takes a little blame in this but I’m looking at the Players right ruy has to elevate his

Game more and be more consistent uh Austin Reeds has been great off the bench cam reddish he now you know they’re giving him an opportunity he needs to be more consistent but it’s about D’Angelo Russell it’s about D’Angelo Russell and right now I would trade D’Angelo Russell for a box of

Christmas cic candles what and a lifelong supply of Christmas lights that’s how horrible he’s been look at this in December 8.7 points per game we’re talking about DLo a guy that could go out every single night and get you a dub the Lakers need scoring they need to

Take the pressure off LeBron need pressure to be taken off Anthony Davis and you know without with gay Vincent being out obviously he returned last night you got to look at D’Angelo Russell because he’s been too inconsistent right the Lakers already don’t play with enough Pace because he

Played too much East and West so I’m looking at D’Angelo Russell and he got to get it together yeah you know it was two weeks ago today guys that they played that game against the Pelicans where they obliterated them by 40 points and it was one of the more impressive uh

Performances I’ve seen the regular season in a while and I watched him last night and it’s like almost not even the same team and I understand that over the course of the NBA season you’re going to get up and downs but I can’t understand the way their focus was just so

Different in this game I mean this is a game they had to get and I know the Bulls are playing better without Zack LaVine they’ve won seven out of 10 without him now but the Bulls are a right now a good three-point shooting team and they were just letting them

Have open threes early in this game and I respect what darham is saying about sort of rejecting the field to just change a starting lineup because they’re struggling but this team gets down over and over and over and over early and it’s just hard to to square watching

Them play in the n Season tournament watching them play games like we’ve seen in the last few weeks you’re right you’re right Wendy because it’s one thing to not be able to make threes being 28th or so in the NBA for the Lakers it’s another thing to give up 18

Threes which means that’s the tide for the most they’ve ever given up so their defense hasn’t been there but there’s been this idea floating around about mental fatigue we all play exactly and we all play you know we all you coach as well now mental fatigue is real

Especially when it’s an8 82 Game season but when you lose to the Spurs the Knicks and the Bulls if I’m in that locker room I’m mad if I’m LeBron James and I’m continuing to push the you know the envelope and get triple doubles I’m mad it doesn’t matter that it’s December

Like if you’re trying to get back to where you were not too long ago Western Conference Finals you got to get one of those games Spurs had lost 18 in a row Knicks are playing their fourth game in six nights without their starting Center Bulls are playing without Zack LaVine I

Mean I know they’ve been playing better on a must-win on this road trip like they really don’t have an excuse for losing all three of those games maybe you lose one not really an excuse for the Lakers to lose all three I I just think at the end of the day they don’t

Have enough I mean LeBron has been brilliant and you’re asking him to be brilliant every night even to just have a chance and as a coach I can tell you the most frustrating thing is not knowing what you’re going to get in a night in and Night Out basis and this is

Why they’re an average team great teams beat the teams they’re supposed to beat this team you could be you know uh the the Clippers one night and then lose to DC the next night whatever whatever scenario you want you don’t know what you’re going to get you could be the

Best team or the worst team and that’s super frustrating but at the end of the day LeBron’s laid out this table and they are waiting for someone to step up take the fork put it in a piece of steak and go eat because he sets a marvelous

Table that was that was a perk ISM right there ready to borrow that one and the thing is it doesn’t get any easier because if you look at their upcoming schedule here what the Lakers are facing right they’re the BPI under underdogs in six of their next seven games here but

You’re saying that they don’t have enough so what can they do here Brian so what I’m what I’m wondering if the Lakers are talking about internally is the which team are we really are we the team that was in the playin last year that was sort of you know strike

Struggling throughout the whole season like basically a 500 team for most of the year or are we the team that was in the playoffs last year that pulled all those upsets are we the team that was that team in the in the play in the inseason tournament this year which are

We because if you are just a 500 team which is what their record says they are then that affects decision-making one way yeah but I know that I know the way the Lakers feel the Lakers feel that they have the two things that you need to win in the NBA superstars and defense

They believe when they’re at their best they have those two things and they can win and so I don’t think they want to change I think they want to believe that they have enough but the results like coach is saying are making you think otherwise but but but you look at the

Guys right that that provided defense for them last year right we saw ruy in stretches in the postseason where he was assigned to joic now he wasn’t going to stop yok but I thought R elevated his game we saw the energy the high motor that Jared Vanderbilt brought

To the table okay and then I think about those guys and what happened this off season what happened was they got a bank roll they got paid and you could always judge a player on before he get paid and after he get paid is he going to get is

He going to be satisfied or is do he still want more do he still have that hunger yeah I don’t see that right now out of the Lakers and here’s one more thing go ahead you know what’s funny though perk they got paid but Darin ham is playing minimum guys ahead of him

He’s playing Tori and Prince and cam radish in starter ahead of those guys because he need energy but here’s another thing LeBron laid it all out on the line when it came down to the n Season tournament we had discussions about how right right was taking charges doing all was

The finals so he gave those guys in the locker room a taste of how it feels to win a championship yeah it wasn’t the NBA Championship but if I’m a young fell in that League that doesn’t really have the hardware then I want more I’m I want

To be greedy LeBron James he’s going to have to wait to add to his rodex of plays against the Wolves he sits out the second night of a backto back the Lakers have tonight this is the third game LeBron has missed this season however the Lakers are 2- 0 without him so far

This year and we talked about it earlier on the show Anthony Davis he’s been playing incredibly well perk but as they head into Minnesota on the second night of a back toback do you think Davis is going to be able to step up to the challenge you said that what two and 0

There’ll be two and one after the night cuz look uh look ad I but he has no choice right he’s going to go out there at the least get 20 and 10 because he’s going to get his touches we know that Kentucky you know who’s the best big to

Ever come out of Kentucky rivalry between him and Carl Anthony towns is always there so ad takes that personal along with cats it’s just it’s the others around him and AD is going to have to do a excellent job tonight a one stand out of foul trouble because not

Only is call Anthony towns going to be going at him but he got to be careful with Anthony Edwards he got to be careful with the kid McDaniels he got to be careful with nas Reed attacking him so it’s going to be interesting but I

Got Min you said that this could be a game that the everybody else proves to LeBron that no we we we are here with you and for you we talk about return games how about a return game for d’angel Russell d’angel Russell was cast off by the Warrior by the by the Wolves

Last year and frankly they’ve been much better for it ever since it happened and so if you’re gonna get off uh off out of the slump for d’angel Russell why not do it in Minnesota where they traded you last year but you know who else wants to

Come out of a slump the Timberwolves himself after getting the work from well and B dropping 50 on them I mean this is the best defense in the NBA also this is the best team by the standings in the west and so they see the Lakers coming

In without LeBron guess what what what was it like fork in the in the steak what did you say back this is going to be good eaten for them well they should and this is the point like now is your time to step to the table and get

Something done if you’re those role players uh for La I would just want to give a quick shout out though to Mike connley because he is the brains behind the business um a guy that you can learn how to be a pro with your approach and I think that that veteran leadership that

He provides it has been really good for their young guys they’re young upand cominging Stars I think he is an absolute stud winner um in every sense of the word so that’s my love for Mike Conley when when you look at the Lakers offense with LeBron and ad on the floor

They still would be in the bottom half of the league in offensive efficiency Brian and that’s not their fault but it is a problem so last night tan Prince and cam reddish actually made threes because they seem to run hot and cold they made shot last night and they still

The Lakers still struggled offensively and so one of the things you’re looking at for Darin ham is do you boost some of the other players minutes to try to maybe get something because they’re they’re playing that starting lineup a lot of minutes that starting lineup on a lot of nights isn’t really Delivering