Nick Young took a trip down memory lane while recalling his infamous beef with D’Angelo Russell.
The former Lakers teammates made headlines off the court in March 2016, when a video that was secretly recorded by Russell surfaced and showed Young discussing his relations with other women in a private conversation together.
During the latest installment of the “Gil’s Arena” podcast with former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, Young, who was dating Australian rapper Iggy Azalea at the time, claimed he confronted Russell — a prized rookie at the time — “from a distance” due to the Lakers adding heightened security in 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,’” Young said when asked by Arenas why he didn’t get physical 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].”
Young added that he didn’t want 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 said.
“By the time — once I saw him the next season, it was the end of the season.”
Young and Russell moved on from the Lakers around the same time in 2017.
Young elected not to exercise his option to extend his Lakers contract for the 2017-18 season and became an unrestricted free agent, the Lakers announced on June 21.
The next day, Russell was traded to the Nets.
Young told Arenas that he believes Russell leaked the video.
“How else do did it get out there?” Young said.
“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 said in a since-deleted tweet that she ended things with Young after she discovered “he had brought other women into our home while I was away and caught them on the security footage” in June 2016.
ESPN reported at the time that the situation caused tension among the Lakers during Kobe Bryant’s farewell season.
Russell had stints with the Warriors and Timberwolves before returning to the Lakers in 2023.
