Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been facing severe backlash for his on-court behavior during his team’s Game 3 playoff loss to the Nuggets on April 25. During a timeout late in the fourth quarter, Russell was seen sitting away from the team huddle even as coach Darvin Ham drew up a play for the team.

Russell was seen scrolling his phone while munching on a snack. His action led Lakers to criticism from pundits, especially since Russell went scoreless in the game, going 0-for-7 from the field.

Former NBA star Jay Williams let it rip on Russell on the April 26 episode of “Get Up” on ESPN.

“I don’t know if he’s on his cellphone. I don’t know if he’s eating snacks. I don’t know what the hell it is,” Williams said. “But I’m sitting up here on national TV saying that I’m the former player that typically, 90% of the time, defends the players and and tries to talk about what it is from the player position. But while you are in a playoff matchup — a battle — even if there is three and a half minutes left to go in the game and your team is down and your team is out of it, you still have one more game left to go.

“For D’Angelo Russell to check out of a game that way, and not even be involved in the team huddle, gives me major concern,” Williams said.

Playoff Meltdown

Wiliams then pointed to Russell being “a detriment to the Lakers” in two of the three playoff games with his poor shooting and lack of defense.

“I don’t want him on my roster,” Williams fumed. “Because I want everyone pulling in the same direction, and if things get hard, and you’re not willing to lean in more, I can’t have you be a part of what we’re trying to build.”

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith also sounded off on Russell on the April 26 episode of “First Take,” calling his actions a “disgrace” and an “embarrassment.”

Deja Vu for Lakers Fans

Russell has been a no-show for the Lakers in two of the three games against the Nuggets, shooting 32.6% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range. In comparison, he shot 45% from the field and 41% from deep in the regular season, and even set a Lakers franchise-high for 3s made in a season.

Russell’s timely drop in numbers has given many Lakers fans a flashback to last year’s Western Conference finals when he averaged 6.3 points at 32/13 shooting splits. Russell’s play was so poor he became unplayable midway through the series.

Lakers in Tough Situation

In a perfect world, the Lakers would love to flip Russell and possibly Austin Reaves for a player such as Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young. ESPN’s Tim McMahon reported rumors regarding Young “were legitimate,” and Bleacher Report wrote that the Cavaliers “were more likely than not” to move Mitchell in case he were to decline his player option.

However, the pathway to forming a new Big 3 isn’t that cut and dried for the Lakers. For one, Russell is expected to decline his player option worth $18.7 million for the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, making him an unrestricted free agent. As such, the Lakers wouldn’t be able to use him as a trade chip unless he would agree to a sign-and-trade to a new team.

Could the Lakers take the drastic step of trading Anthony Davis? Some believe that could be their best option to upgrade the roster to compete with the juggernaut Nuggets.