Russell tells Ingram to have more successful rookie year than he did
Brandon Ingram, the second overall pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, is the new kid in town at the Staples Center - a spot D'Angelo Russell was in at this time last year.
Russell says he was ready to advise his new teammate on what to expect in the months ahead and how to get the most out of his first year in the league.
"I told him to embrace the pressure," the 20-year-old scoring guard told Slam's Drew Ruiz. "What he’s going through now is what I went through as far as being the No. 2 pick, all the attention is on you and everybody wanting to see what you can do. Now I look back on what I went through last year and I was like, ‘That was the pressure I had?’ And I kind of didn’t embrace it. Embrace it, like, go get it and go attack it. That’s what I tell him - to go have way more success in your first year than I had."
A great deal of angst can come from representing one of the most storied franchises in the history of professional sports. Expectations are always high, and even in what's clearly a rebuilding phase, Lakers fans won't accept mediocrity for much longer.
Russell had stretches during the 2015-16 regular season where he looked like the exceptional talent the Lakers could potentially build the team around, but inconsistencies on the basketball court paired with some questionable decision-making behind the scenes resulted in a shaky rookie campaign.
In a year that had more downs than ups, Russell still managed to secure himself a slot on the All-NBA Rookie second team after averaging 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on just 41 percent shooting from the field in 80 appearances.
His playing style didn't earn himself any brownie points with former head coach Byron Scott, who benched Russell late in games in favor of veterans.
Related: Lakers' Russell: Luke Walton 'one of the best people I know'
Russell and Ingram are expected to have a longer leash with Kobe Bryant out of the picture and Luke Walton in power on the sidelines.
It's still not clear whether or not Ingram will get the start at small forward next to Russell, though. Walton hasn't committed to having him or Luol Deng at the three-spot yet, and will instead let that decision work itself out during training camp.