Trade buzz was at an all-time high for D’Angelo Russell this month, as he struggled to hit shots and earn play time for the Lakers. But now, amid a particularly hot shooting streak, the tables have turned for Russell and he wants the whole world to know.
“I just try to give the media new headlines,” said D’Lo on his continued dominance. “Y’all talk about trades and all that… you gotta talk about me making shots at some point.”
D’Lo is clearly feeling himself after the win over Golden State, which saw him put up 28 points and 5 assists in 49 minutes of play. His confidence was unreal in the contest and he rose for jumpers without hesitation. This type of performance is exactly what the Lakers need from D’Angelo and it’s what they’ve been looking for since they won the title in 2020. It remains to be seen if Russell can be consistent with his play, but all the signs are positive so far as he plays himself out of the trade block.
A Rising Threat In The West
This season, at 24-23, the Lakers are on the outside looking in at the circle of championship contenders. As it stands, the Lakers just don’t appear to have enough to compete with teams like the Thunder, Nuggets, and Los Angeles Clippers. Even so, LeBron James and Anthony Davis alone are enough to make a deep postseason run and we saw that with the Lakers last year when they won two playoff rounds as the 7th seed.
This time, the jury is still out on their ultimate ceiling as a group but no smart team is going to count them out completely. Besides LeBron and Davis, the Lakers also have Austin Reaves to lean on and he’s delivered for them before with stakes on the line. Of course, D’Angelo Russell may be the biggest x-factor of all for this team given the impact he makes for them offensively when he’s hitting shots. Assuming they don’t trade Russell, he could be huge in helping them return to the Conference Finals and socking the world for the second straight year.
Will Lakers Trade Russell?
As the Lakers players battle for wins on the court, GM Rob Pelinka is doing everything he can to improve his team’s chances. With the stars already in place, Pelinka only needs to find role-players to fill out the roster, but it’s not so easy to find the right ones, especially if it involves giving someone up.
For now, no trades are imminent but that could change if the right opportunity is presented. As valuable as Russell has been for them, his career-long struggle with defense and consistency makes him unreliable in the playoffs and they might be better off finding someone with more stability to their game. Of course, with D’Lo currently shooting lights out, the odds are not great for him to be traded and the Lakers may just end up keeping this group together. In truth, what happens in the playoffs will determine the future of this team, and who they keep going into the final phase of the LeBron James era.
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