Lakers offseason news: D'Angelo Russell makes All-Rookie second team

A few days after the announcement that D'Angelo Russell had finished ninth in Rookie of the Year voting, the NBA announce on Thursday morning that the Los Angeles Lakers' second overall pick had made the All-Rookie second team (via Marc J. Spears of ESPN).

Making the second team alongside Russell were fellow rookies Justise Winslow of the Miami Heat, Emmanuel Mudiay of the Denver Nuggets, Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, and Willie Cauley-Stein of the Sacramento Kings. The first team consisted of unanimous Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks, Devin Bookier of the Phoenix Suns, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, and Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Going into the year, most thought Russell had a pretty good shot to make the first team, but an unideal coaching situation, not starting hot out of the gates, complications brought about by the Kobe Bryant farewell tour, and an unfortunate leaked video incident involving Russell recording teammate Nick Young admitting to infidelity all combined to bump Russell down to the second team despite a strong second half of the season.

Ultimately honors like this are nice, but they don't make or break careers. Russell seems to be on the right track, and it's not outlandish ends up having one of the five best careers in this class when it's all said and done. Russell is already back in the gym looking to improve for next year, and this second-tier placement will just have to serve as more motivation for the sophomore guard.

Here is the full voting breakdown, with Larry Nance, Jr. (three) and Marcelo Huertas (one) also receiving votes:

D'Angelo Russell finished seventh in All-Rookie voting. Reminder that these teams are not position-specific. pic.twitter.com/11B1PoHwAL

— Bill Oram (@billoram) May 19, 2016

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