Darvin Ham confirms D’Angelo Russell will start over Gabe Vincent at PG position in opening press conference

One of the LA Lakers’s biggest question marks entering training camp was who would start at point guard between D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent. Russell was the Lakers’ starting PG after being acquired from Minnesota during last season's trade deadline. He also started in 15 of LA’s 16 2023 playoff games. Meanwhile, Vincent, who signed with LA this offseason, is coming off a 2023 NBA Finals run with Miami where he started all 22 games. However, on Thursday, Lakers coach Darvin Ham finally put an end to the mystery as he anointed Russell LA’s starting PG entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

During Thursday’s media availability session, Ham first raved about how impressed he was by Russell’s work ethic and leadership over the summer:

“He’s been great with his communication all summer, especially when he’s gotten back in the market around the guys,” Ham said.

“Just seeing him in workouts, seeing him in little pickup games, how he’s talking; he’s vocal, he’s encouraging the new guys, he’s talking through things with Bron and AD”

Ham then eliminated any doubts surrounding Russell’s placement in the Lakers’ rotation as he referred to the 27-year-old as LA’s starting PG:

“He’s our starting point guard,” Ham said.

Ham added that he plans to continue to push Russell to improve and that he expects big things from him in 2024:

“And I’m going to encourage him to be assertive. He’s a highly, highly intelligent basketball player, one that is coming back with sort of a chip on his shoulder because he chose us. We believe in him, and he’s one of those guys that has a ton of pride and passion about not only his individual performance but those of his teammates as well,” Ham said.

“He’s one of the biggest supporters of his teammates. So, I look for all of that in D-Lo, and I think he’s another one that’s going to have an outstanding season.”

(44:21 mark below)

D’Angelo Russell re-signed with the Lakers on a two-year, $36 million deal this offseason. However, the deal includes a player option for the 2024-25 season, meaning that Russell could opt out of his contract and become a free agent next offseason. So, Russell will likely have extra motivation to prove himself this coming season.

Russell averaged 17.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.5 blocks and 2.7 3-pointers per game on 48.4% shooting over 17 games with LA last season. However, his production took a hit in the playoffs as he averaged just 13.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.3 bpg and 1.7 3pg on 42.6% shooting over 16 games.

Rob Pelinka says D’Angelo Russell is in a good head space entering the 2023-24 NBA season

LA Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka

LA Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka also touched on D’Angelo Russell’s status during Thursday’s press conference. Pelinka said that Russell impressed him with his leadership, conditioning and overall mindset throughout the offseason:

“I will say, his offseason has been quietly really impressive”

“He’s really carried himself with confidence, spirit. He’s been a vocal leader on the court ... It looks like he was very intentional too with taking care of his body and adding a little bit of shoulder strength. I think you guys will see he’s bumping guys off their line, getting into his fadeaway package. D’Angelo’s in a really good headspace.”

(46:09 mark below)

So, all things considered, it looks like Lakers fans can expect a big 2023-24 season from D’Angelo Russell.

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