With Team USA camp in full swing and Lakers’ Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle apart of the Select Team, various coaches have been impressed by what they’ve seen of the trio.
After Ingram drew lofty praise from Coach K and Kevin Durant on Tuesday, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Poppovich talked with Lakers Nation’s Serena Winters about the Laker trio.
On Julius Randle:
I didn’t know him at all until I got here and what I found is he’s got a great sense of humor, first of all. He’s a fun guy to joke with and he’ll joke back. And he’s worked very hard. He’s very coachable. He listens. He takes direction. So he’s been very enjoyable so far.
On Brandon Ingram and the comparisons to Kevin Durant:
Their bodies are pretty similar. It’d be pretty tough to compare somebody to Kevin Durant. It’s almost unfair. He’s something else. We’ll see what time does for both of them.
On D’Angelo Russell:
He’s a much more clever player. He’s very skilled, but he’s smart on the court. He knows what the situation is and he knows how to take advantage of certain match-ups that are on the court. He does a good job of that.
He’s done a great job. He’s taken direction, he’s communicated really well with everybody else on the team. He’s done well.
Obviously these are high praises to be Russell and Randle from not only one of the game’s best coaches, but the future USA head coach after the Olympics this season.
Randle, meanwhile, has embraced the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best minds in basketball
.@J30_RANDLE has often asked Pop questions: "I’m not going to be able to do it during the season. That’s when he’s going to try to kill me"
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 20, 2016
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The three Lakers are clearly taking in the moment and experience while also impressing players and coaches alike. After multiple years of terrible basketball, it looks like Laker fans might finally have something to look forward to.
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