D’Angelo Russell dines with Lakers’ basketball operations staff
Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell drives to the basket during a loss to Arizona in the NCAA tournament on March 21, 2015. Russell is considered one of the top point guards available in this year’s NBA draft.
The Lakers’ basketball operations department took Ohio State guard D’Angelo Russell to dinner on Sunday night.
The team tweeted out a photo of the 6-foot-5 freshman, flanked by General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Assistant General Manager Glenn Carraro, along with Jesse Buss (director of scouting), Ryan West (assistant director of scouting), Jordan Wilkes (basketball operations assistant), Rondre Jackson (director of player development) and Kevin Grevey (college scout).
The Lakers hold three picks in the 2015 NBA draft. Russell is an option with the team’s second overall selection. The franchise also has the 27th and 34th picks.
In his one season with the Buckeyes, Russell averaged 19.3 points and 5.0 assists, and shot 41.1% from three-point range.
The basketball operations staff also dined with guard Emmanuel Mudiay on Friday, before his workout with the team the following day. Mudiay played last season in China.
In addition to the team’s morning audition of six players for the latter two picks, Russell is expected to go through an individual workout on Monday afternoon.
The Lakers are also expected to look at Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns for their second pick, among others.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.
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