|| LocK Dis Up ||

BURBANK, Calif. -- Hundreds of Los Angeles Lakers fans stretched along the walls outside the Community Chevrolet dealership Saturday afternoon, all of them eagerly waiting to meet rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell.

At Russell's side: a Lakers security guard, a representative from Creative Artists Agency (which represents him), and his two older brothers, Antonio and LeShawn.

Chevrolet also provided two additional security guards in case any issues arose considering the heated fallout after a leaked video Russell secretly recorded of teammate Nick Young discussing women other than his fiancée, Iggy Azalea, went public recently.

ESPN first reported this week that some of Russell's teammates were isolating him since the video was posted, and on Wednesday at Staples Center against the Miami Heat, Lakers fans roundly booed Russell during player introductions and any time he touched the ball early in the game.

But the extra security never had to act at the dealership Saturday. An estimated 600 to 800 fans turned out -- Bob Frutos, the mayor of Burbank, also was in attendance -- and the reaction was wholly positive as Russell signed more than 400 autographs and took more than 600 pictures for over an hour in the dealership's foyer.

Russell, who owns a Corvette, reached out to Chevrolet to schedule the meet-and-greet months ago, but the event came at an awkward moment when his reputation has taken a serious, perhaps career-altering hit.

But after the darkest and more traumatic week in his basketball career, Russell was greeted by hundreds of fans who were wearing his jersey and carried pictures, posters and basketball cards of him. They shared with Russell how beloved he is by the fan base and how excited they are for the franchise's future with him as its point guard.

"You're here to stay, man," one fan yelled to Russell.

"We want you," another said.

A father holding his infant daughter pointed at Russell and whispered to her, "He's going to win us a championship."

As Russell heard the constant stream of positive feedback and reinforcement, the stern look on his face when he entered the building began to fade. The normally affable 20-year-old began to open up and joke with fans, though he was not made available to reporters for comment.

"Take the torch," a fan told him. "Take over. Byron Scott won't be there!"

The last sentence elicited a laugh and a big smile from Russell. He simply responded with a "thank you," but his body language said it all.

"I feel like it was a big misunderstanding," Steven Pesikov, 22, told ESPN.com. "I was a little sketched out about it, but I don't think it was on purpose. It was just bad circumstances."

Pesikov said his friends who are Lakers fans are split on how to feel about Russell, with some calling him a "snitch" and refusing to cheer for him, while others, like himself, have forgiven Russell and moved past the incident.

Juan Catalan, 37, waited in line for two hours and gave Russell words of encouragement.

"True Lakers fans got your back," Catalan said. "We're behind you. You're going to be a superstar."

"Nobody's perfect," Catalan told ESPN.com. "Everybody makes mistakes. It's human nature to kick someone when they're down and out. I just wanted to come here and show him some love and support."

Catalan and the hundreds of fans who showed up weren't the only ones. Following the backlash Russell has received in light of the recent drama, more than 100 fans called Chevrolet and told them to let Russell know they wished nothing but the best for him.

"Over the last couple of weeks, people called just to offer support and wanted to make sure he was still coming," Community Chevrolet general manager Chad Kelman said. "We were really thrilled with how everything rolled out. Frankly, just about everyone that was here was here for the right reasons, and they were all very supportive.

"I think you realize this is a really welcoming fan base. The people that were here were truly fans of him and the Lakers."

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DarthSka said:

This entire story is yet another shining example of how easily people are media-driven.

It was a non-story at first, then the sports media created the story and people were outraged, and now the sports media has moved on to opening day in baseball and the results of the final four in men yesterday and the final four today for women and Kaep possibly going to Denver; this is back to being a non-issue again, because the media said so.

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DarthSka said:

 
The NBA as a whole... or you? 

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Th3RealF0lkBlu3s said:

Needed D'Angelo jersey prices to dip during this 'crisis' [emoji]128064[/emoji]

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DCMADE said:

If 3 years from now he reaches his potential and becomes one of the better PGs in the league ...no one will care

On the flip side if in a couple of years he's at the end of the bench no one will care either. This whole thing has been overblown on how it'll impact people coming to LA

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Mamba MVP said:

Just stop, the media and even majority of the fans may not care, players will not forget and some may very well decide not to come because of it.

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KingJaffeJo said:

How do you know that? How are you so confident in that??
I am not arguing your point but I just wanna no why you are so confident in that?

Because its easy for any of us to assume one way or another ya no

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DCMADE said:

If he's averaging Dame numbers 3 years from now dudes are not turning down max offers because of a video that he leaked as a teen. I don't see it

Not defending him at all either **** was a ***** move ..but dudes are really going crazy over this for no reason imo

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Mamba MVP said:

They'll already be turning down mac offers because of the roster, coaching situation, and management, but this won't be a contributing factor? Not saying it's at the top for everyone, but it'll give player's pause if their visceral reactions are any indication.

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DCMADE said:

And I'm still waiting on who we missed out on because of the Kobe situation

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DCMADE said:

Which is why I said in a couple of years. This happen literally at the perfect time ..nobody is coming here anyways. let him develop, we get a new coach and improve over the next couple of years. If by that time we are a fringe playoff team and he's putting up numbers you really think dudes are going to be citing some **** he did as a teenager as a reason not to sign ?

And I'm still waiting on who we missed out on because of the Kobe situation

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