The Lakers Take A Step Back

Boxers always used to get this bit of instruction in the ring before a fight: Protect yourself at all times.

Because you never knew when your opponent might club your kidneys during a clinch, hit on a break, commit some sort of infraction that inattentiveness could only make worse.

So how do you figure out this nonsense in the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room, where D’Angelo Russell furtively recorded teammate Nick Young answering, uh, personal questions about his sex life and if his fiancée, singer Iggy Azalea, knew about his, uh, outside conquests and interests.

She knows now. Somehow – and Russell can’t explain it – the video embarked on a journey from his phone to the Internet, damaging everyone involved. Teammates now don’t trust Russell, Young (in theory one of Russell’s best friends) is, uh, angry, while the Lakers have the 29th best record in a 30-team league.

“I feel as sick as possible,” Russell, 20, said at a news conference before Wednesday night’s game with the Miami Heat. He said he had apologized to Young but didn’t know if Young accepted. And Azalea wrote on Twitter: “hmmm i see D Angelo Russell is trending… I actually liked his film. Thanks bro.”

Kobe Bryant couldn’t have asked for his farewell season in the NBA to go any more poorly. The Lakers are awful and apparently not trustworthy.

“I know if I’ve lost anybody’s trust, I’m going to work my tail off to gain it back, because that’s something you need for a winning team,” Russell said. “You need everybody to trust each other. You need the first guy to trust the 15th guy, and that’s my intentions.”

Easy to say, apparently not so easy to do.

Protect yourself at all times.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman