In Photos: Lakers’ D'Angelo Russell poses for family portrait with GF Laura Ivaniukas and kids
LA Lakers star D'Angelo Russell's girlfriend Laura Ivaniukas took to Instagram on Sunday to share a series of family portraits after welcoming a new member to their family. The snaps featured the couple, their two-year-old son Riley, and their newborn daughter Mila, draped in all-white outfits.
D'Angelo Russell and Laura Ivaniukas welcomed their newborn daughter on Aug. 9. Ivaniukas announced Mila's arrival with a post on Instagram.
"Mila-Rose Russell 🤍🌹 08-09-2024. We love you endlessly," Laura captioned her post.
Ivaniukas and Russell have reportedly been together since 2020 and previously welcomed their first child in September 2022. The model often shares posts of her kids and the family. She also kept her followers updated throughout her pregnancy with Mila.
Lakers reportedly don't view D'Angelo Russell as part of their core in the future
On a recent episode of ESPN's "The Hoop Collective" podcast, NBA Analyst Tim Bontemps said that the LA Lakers don't view D'Angelo Russell as a core player with the team moving forward. While discussing the Lakers' wing depth, Bontemps elaborated on Russell's lack of defensive efficiency as he made the claim.
“I mean, at the end of the day, if the Lakers are going to be the championship-contending team that people want them to be, you have to have — in theory what they really need to do is turn D’Angelo Russell into a guy who can both hit 3s and guard,” Bontemps said.
“Austin Reaves is a guy they see clearly as a guy who’s part of their core going forward. D’Angelo Russell is not, which is why he was on this two-year makeshift deal in the first place. It’s why he opted into his contract this summer, because he knew there wasn’t gonna be a big market for his services.”
Watch the segment at 23:29 here:
The Lakers reportedly looked to trade Russell to the Atlanta Hawks for Dejounte Murray around December-January last season. However, the Hawks were reportedly not interested in the trade.
Ahead of his 10th season in the league, D'Angelo Russell opted into his $18.7 million player option to stay with the Lakers instead of hitting the market during free agency.
Russell concluded last season averaging 18 points, 6.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 45.6% from the field, including 41.5% from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-3 guard proved to be a consistent scorer and also displayed improvement on the defensive end.