It’s not been a good day if you’re a Lakers fan. Even if you’re Ice Cube.
The Lakers are in full on tank mode to keep their pick making sure their young players get run so they can develop. That interestingly has meant D’Angelo Russell is coming off the bench, being tried at the two, and generally experimented with. As if they might draft Lonzo Ball and move on from the Russell era in Los Angeles.
Ice Cube — a huge Lakers’ fan and one of the founders of the 3-on-3 league coming this summer – is no fan of the tanking. And he’d like to see a little more D’Angelo, he told TMZ in an ambush interview.
The Lakers are doing exactly the right thing – play the youth, experiment with lineups, see what works and what doesn’t, find out who is playing hard when the season is over, and if out of all of that you keep the top three protected pick, all the better. Luke Walton needs to keep pushing them, coaching them hard, then this summer the Lakers can assess where they are and who is part of the future.
Then make smart moves this summer and Ice Cube — and the rest of Lakers Nation — will be happy.