The Los Angeles Lakers made some big changes this past offseason, and a couple of them marked the end of two of the most controversial players on the team, Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell’s tenure in Los Angeles.
Young signed with the Golden State Warriors as a free agent, and Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets along with Timofey Mozgov in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in the draft.
Russell is making his return to L.A. Friday night, as the Lakers are set to host the Nets. Although Russell’s former teammate Larry Nance Jr. will not be able to play in the game, he said he is looking forward to Russell’s return.
Nance is not the only one looking forward to Friday night’s game, as Young sent out a tweet Friday morning:
I️ can’t wait to see this tonight….he back in LA ????????????
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) November 3, 2017
Young, of course, was involved in an incident with Russell a couple years ago when they both were on the Lakers that may have caused some damage in the Laker locker room.
The two were able to work out their differences and played well together last season, but ultimately the organization decided to move on from both players this past offseason.
Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson recently commented on Russell’s time with the Lakers, saying that L.A. wasn’t necessarily the right fit for Russell.
It will be interesting to see what type of reception Russell received from the crowd at Staples Center Friday night, but one thing that is for sure is he will be looking to have a good game against the team that gave up on him to prove that they made the wrong decision.
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