D'Angelo Russell was the top story Wednesday, and his actions have caught the ire of Lakers fans.
During the team's game Wednesday night, fans shouted "traitor" and "snitch" in the direction of Russell, as well as some traditional boos. The 20-year-old is under scrutiny after a video he recorded of a private conversation with teammate Nick Young leaked to the media.
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"I can't really show my face anywhere without people hating me right now," Russell said after the game. "I don't know. I try to handle it the right way and remember why I'm here, which is to play basketball."
Obviously with all of the attention placed on him, he was expecting the hate.
"Oh, I knew that was going to happen," he said of being booed. "It's all good."
D'Angelo Russell postgame interview (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/EQumAwAID2
— Roban Perezanovic (@World_Wide_Wob) March 31, 2016
Russell apologized publicly before the game, and reportedly privately to the team as well. He's also spoken with Young about the incident. At this point the only thing that will cause this story to blow over is time, and fortunately the season is almost over.
As for other teammates, Kobe Bryant offered some advice to Russell. He called the situation "unfortunate" and "tough."
"I think there's a lot to learn from that; I'm sure he is, I'm sure he'll evolve. I'm sure he'll grow, and I'm sure he'll be better from it," Bryant said after Wednesday's game. "I don't think there's much he can do about it now; outside of the countless apologies, there's not really anything else he can do but just continue to perform, continue to earn the trust of his teammates and his peers and onward he goes."
