Lakers News: D’Angelo Russell hasn’t worked with Magic Johnson yet; looks forward to meeting

Thanks to the upcoming All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a nice little stretch where their schedule finally isn’t the brutal gauntlet it’s been seemingly all season. Over the next 10 days, they’ll play a total of three games, giving them some time to catch their breath from all the speculation surrounding the organization of late.

One such priority over the next week or so will be re-introducing Magic Johnson to players and coaches so that all involved can be on the same page as Johnson gets used to his new role.

When he was officially hired, Johnson speak at length about the guys he looked forward to working with. While he and D’Angelo Russell haven’t had the time to meet quite yet, it certainly sounds like they’re anxious to do so. Per LakersNation’s Serena Winters, they’ve had their introductions, but nothing specific quite yet.

Their conversation will certainly be interesting, if not at least a little awkward given their highly differing relationships with ex-head coach Byron Scott, but in order for Johnson to do his job to his fullest capabilities, he’ll have to develop a productive relationship with the guy currently playing his old position.

For Russell, it goes without saying how valuable having Magic around to bounce ideas off of is quite the advantage.

Both parties have plenty to gain from working with each other, and this next week should provide ample opportunity to get that ball rolling.

Anthony Irwin is the host of “Locked on Lakers” and write stuff on here, obviously. You can find him on Twitter @AnthonyIrwinLA.