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No one can accuse D'Angelo Russell of setting low expectations for himself.
"Three years from now I definitely would plan on considering being an All-Star and helping this franchise get to where it was and being a piece of that," Russell told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com in a wide-ranging "Lakers Voices" live video chat on Monday. "And if I could retire as a Laker that would be great. It's just a winning franchise and L.A. is great. I love it."
Russell isn't an All-Star yet, but since the All-Star break he's played well enough that if his current trajectory continues it won't be a break for long. Since returning from Toronto, Russell has averaged 18.5 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting to go with 4.4 assists. If the confident rookie can keep up that type of production, his lofty goals will be well within reach.
The whole chat offered a fun window into Russell's unique personality and his experience in the NBA so far. Here are a few of the highlights (and you can watch the whole thing here):
"I don't know. I like the loading word... that's the name"-Russell on where @Dloading came from
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell on the hardest part of being a rookie pic.twitter.com/81HTHC7zgF
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"L.A.'s beautiful, I love L.A. There's always something to do"-Russell on L.A.
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell said he wants to go skydiving when he retires
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"The 39-point game is cool... Sacramento game was one of the best ones for me because it was against Rondo"- Russell on best moment so far
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
He spoke about how he always looked up to Rondo, played at the same high school but always played badly when Rondo came to see him
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell's agent is calling him on the live stream
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"It was dope man"- Russell on being name dropped by Bryson Tiller
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell just said one of the Lakers employees in the room is wearing fake yeezys
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell says "I Love Kanye" is his favorite song on TLOP, but he also likes "Real Friends"
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"College is really team... and at this level everybody goes their own ways"- Russell on the hardest part of going from college to the NBA
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"I was telling [JC] 'honestly' I don't want to go back in'"- more Russell on being okay with the bench finishing the game
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
He talked about how he saw the reserves "playing their hearts out" and was okay with sitting
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
Russell on whether he or Clarkson are "more fly" pic.twitter.com/NnfLHzhYGu
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"John is the Godfather... Him and Gary Vitti are like the Godfather's around here"- Russell on John Black's swag
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
He went on to joke that Black has a pair of Jordan 1's that MJ gave him that he wears with his suits
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"I hate traveling" -Russell on why he would pick teleportation as his super power
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"I don't watch that"- D'Angelo Russell on the bachelor
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"That's game. I like it"- Russell on the current "Bachelor" telling two women he loves them
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"I'd probably be trying to play baseball"- Russell on what he would be doing if he wasn't playing basketball
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"This offseason should be fun... being able to take a vacation. I haven't had a summer in like five years"- Russell on this offseason
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
"I gotta go with Westbrook."- Russell on the toughest guard to cover in the league
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
D'Angelo names Russell Westbrook as the toughest player he's had to guard.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 14, 2016
"He just goes right through you."#SuitingUpTogether
.@Dloading probably just won a bet with @JClark5on for this "suh dude" at the end of Lakers Voices pic.twitter.com/JjLBu33bmd
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) March 14, 2016
For those that don't understand the reference in the last tweet, Jordan Clarkson has been imitating this Vine on his Snapchat all weekend (h/t Alysha Tsuji of For the Win)
All stats per NBA.com. You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.