D’Angelo Russell on Austin Reaves: ‘They probably discredit him because of his skin color, but he got game’

Clutch Points: “Bron’s more involved with everybody, with everything. On the bus he’s social, on the plane he’s social. I sat next to [Kobe on the plane]… He never talked, he was real to himself.” D’Angelo Russell compares LeBron and Kobe’s auras 👀 (via @PatBevPod) pic.twitter.com/0QQuIevJjS -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / August 3, 2023

D’Angelo Russell: “My Kobe was old; my Kobe was on his way out… I’ll just go from an aura perspective. Kobe was on his way out, but LeBron is more involved with everybody and everything. On the bus he’s social, on the plane he’s social, he’s just more sociable. When I was with Kobe, I sat next to him on the plane and we sat in one of the back seats… I sat next to him every time and just watched and studied him and just chill next to him – he never talked. -via TalkBasket / August 3, 2023

“On the floor, he was on his way out so he didn’t really have that youthness to him where he was bouncey, he was just getting to it. Bron obviously still has a different motivation, he’s still writing his book (career). Kobe already decided he was retiring that year. Our team was, everybody was on a one-year deal and there weren’t a lot of young guys so our ‘win now’ moment wasn’t there…” Russell stated. “It was a fun little run, but we got Kobe on the way out when he was happy-go-lucky and his spirit was a little different. Everybody always said like ‘Man, you lucky you got Kobe on his way out versus when he was still through the grind because he was nasty and competitive’ and everything you say he brought that into it.” -via TalkBasket / August 3, 2023

Scotto: Lakers guard Austin Reaves recently told All The Smoke on Showtime that the Rockets and Spurs were possibilities before he re-signed with the Lakers. The Spurs considered offering Reaves a restricted free agency sheet worth $21 million per season, league sources told HoopsHype. Ultimately, however, the Spurs were scared off by the widespread belief that the Lakers would match any offer sheet for Reaves and chose to preserve cap space as a salary dump destination for future draft pick compensation. The Rockets were also closely monitoring Reaves’ situation because they were prepared to make a big offer sheet if Fred VanVleet didn’t sign with them, sources said. -via HoopsHype / July 26, 2023

What are your thoughts on the job Pelinka did over the summer in assembling this Lakers roster? He re-signed Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimira and D’Angelo Russell, and signed Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes. Magic Johnson: I think he followed it up with another outstanding job, first from the trade deadline and then he kept it going in the summer. He did better than anybody in the summer. All the moves he made, he was the No. 1 GM in the NBA this offseason. No question about it. All the guys that we signed will help LeBron and the other guys because now we are deeper. Rob is going to be executive of the year. -via Los Angeles Times / July 24, 2023

Austin Reaves: He [LeBron James] acts like a damn kid. He acts like he’s like 18. You know, I never really see him in a bad mood. Always joking, laughing, having a good time. For someone that you put on a pedestal because he’s done what he’s done, for him to just be so personable, right? Yeah, you can talk to him about anything. You can have a good conversation with him, you could joke around. Like I said, his best thing is he comes to work every day happy. -via YouTube / July 24, 2023