D'Angelo Russell's only season with the Warriors coincided with a year that the franchise would like to forget as they went a league-worst 15-50 during a COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2019-20 NBA season.
Now that Russell is facing the Warriors as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, his former teammates and coaches are being asked about his short stint with the franchise, which can lead to awkward situations.
Kevon Looney was one of the players on that team, and when he was asked about Russell's time with the Warriors, he jokingly revealed that those who were a part of that team have attempted to erase that season from their memory.
"We tried to delete that season from our mind because we was terrible that year," Looney told reporters Sunday. "A lot of guys got hurt."
Klay Thompson missed the season after suffering a torn ACL injury against the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Meanwhile, on Oct. 30, 2019, Steph Curry broke his left hand in a contest against the Phoenix Suns and missed most of the season.
Looney was limited to 20 games during the 2019-20 season due tightness in his hamstrings which led to a neuropathy diagnosis.
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Golden State also lost Kevin Durant, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2019. The Warriors sent Durant and a protected 2020 first-round pick in exchange for Russell, Shabazz Napier, and Treveon Graham as part of a sign-and-trade.
Seven months later, the Warriors ended the Russell experiment by trading him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins and a 2021 first-round draft pick which was used to select Jonathan Kuminga.
Since then, Russell was traded again, with the Timberwolves shipping him back to the Lakers, the team that originally drafted him.
Russell has found success in his second stint with the Lakers, and for Looney, it is no surprise to see his former teammate thriving.
"You know, he's a fun guy to be around," Looney continued. "I've been knowing D-Lo a while, so, yeah, we know he's a competitor. Wherever he usually plays, he usually plays well, so it's not a shock to see him doing what he's doing. It's fun to compete against him, but hopefully, we slow him down."
Russell played 33 games for the Warriors before being traded to the Timberwolves on Feb. 7, 2020.
The Ohio State product played parts of four seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded back to Los Angeles in February as part of a three-team deal also involving the Utah Jazz.
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Russell has been a thorn in Warriors' side in the two Lakers wins during the current second-round series, as the 27-year-old has scored 19 or more points in those contests.
Aside from attempting to quiet Anthony Davis, Looney is correct; the Warriors will need to slow Russell down if they want to win Game 4 on Monday at Crypto.com Arena to even the series 2-2.