"Snitch let you down": D'Angelo Russell's scathing criticism continues as Nick Young reignites bitter feud after Lakers playoff woesÂ
Dating back to their time as teammates, D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young have a long history of not getting along. After their postseason exit, the former champion took shots at the LA Lakers guard again.
After making their way through the play-in, the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of last year's conference finals. While they avoided a sweep, LA was sent home in five games.
During a recent interview on "Vlad TV," Young shared his thoughts on the Lakers' playoff exit. He feels they relied too much on D'Angelo Russell, and it was a key factor in their downfall.
"They depended on DLo and that's just you asking to lose," Young said. "You just asking to lose right there, putting your faith in that. They put faith in a snitch and the snitch let you down."
The snitchy remarks stem from Russell and Young's time together on the Lakers. Russell was caught secretly videotaping Young while asking him about his love life.
This caused a rift between them, as Young was engaged to pop star Iggy Azalea at the time. Since then, the two have never been able to overcome their differences.
Nick Young opens up on D'Angelo Russell's action during Game 3 vs Nuggets
One of D'Angelo Russell's biggest lowlights of the series vs the Denver Nuggets came in Game 3. Darvin Ham was forced to bench the former All-Star due to offensive struggles, and he did not respond well. Later in the game, Russell was seen pouting on the bench alone while the LA Lakers were in a huddle.
While jabbing at his former teammate, Nick Young also spoke on Russell's action during Game 3:
"That Game 3 was tough for him," Young said. "I know I like to pick fun at him, but you just seen the writing on the wall. I feel like that was a big game and he could have changed the mindsets of what people think about him. And he let the moment be bigger than him."
D'Angelo Russell had some big outings in the series against Denver, but Game 3 was a night to forget for him. He went scoreless in 24 minutes of action, shooting 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.
It's worth noting that Russell was able to respond following his struggles. He came out in Game 4 and notched 21 points on 53% shooting to help lead the Lakers to their only win in the series.