Nick Younger took a visit down reminiscence lane whereas recalling his notorious beef with D’Angelo Russell.
The previous Lakers teammates made headlines off the court docket in March 2016, when a video that was secretly recorded by Russell surfaced and confirmed Younger discussing his relations with different girls in a non-public dialog collectively.
Throughout the newest installment of the “Gil’s Arena” podcast with former NBA participant Gilbert Arenas, Younger, who was courting Australian rapper Iggy Azalea on the time, claimed he confronted Russell — a prized rookie on the time — “from a distance” as a result of Lakers including heightened safety within the aftermath of the incident.
“[Former Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak told me, ‘Don’t come to the arena. Don’t come to practice, none of that. If you do anything, we’ll take your money,’ and all that … They said we’re gonna take some money from you,’” Younger stated when requested by Arenas why he didn’t get bodily with Russell over the matter.
“And then when I got there there was security there, all around there, so I couldn’t get a chance to [beat him up].”
Younger added that he didn’t need to get “kicked out of the league” if he retaliated.
“They made me look like the bad vet … For being recorded, I got sent home,” he stated.
“By the time — once I saw him the next season, it was the end of the season.”
Younger and Russell moved on from the Lakers across the similar time in 2017.
Younger elected to not train his possibility to increase his Lakers contract for the 2017-18 season and have become an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers introduced on June 21.
The subsequent day, Russell was traded to the Nets.
Younger informed Arenas that he believes Russell leaked the video.
“How else do did it get out there?” Younger stated.
“I’m big time, you know that. I’ve had the baddest. At that time I was in the mix. I was dabbling and dabbling … he was seeing a lot. He was so enthused by the Swaggy persona. He wanted to get some of my aura … He was recording me to see how this s–t was.”
Three months later, Azalea stated in a since-deleted tweet that she ended issues with Younger after she found “he had brought other women into our home while I was away and caught them on the security footage” in June 2016.
ESPN reported on the time that the state of affairs precipitated pressure among the many Lakers throughout Kobe Bryant’s farewell season.
Russell had stints with the Warriors and Timberwolves earlier than returning to the Lakers in 2023.
