Speaking to the media ahead of the game against Utah on Saturday, Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell opened up on his involvement in the latest round of trade rumors. As a seasoned veteran and former Laker, Russell already knows how to handle the noise and he’s acting completely unphased by all the talk about his basketball future.
“No, I mean, it is what it is,” Russell said. “Since I’ve been in the league, I’ve kind of been dealing with that to where I know I can’t control it. I know those things happen, no matter how well you play, how professional you act, how many shots you make or miss, this is gonna happen regardless. So I don’t really go about my days worrying about that, to be honest.”
At 19-20, the Los Angeles Lakers have been painfully mediocre this season and the underwhelming play of D’Angelo Russell has been a huge part of the reason why. LA was counting on him to make shots and make plays for them this season but his inconsistency makes him unreliable and he has yet to secure a permanent spot in the rotation. Coming from last year, when Russell was huge for the team in their run to the Conference Finals, this isn’t what any Lakers fan wanted or expected to see this season.
A Rough Season For D’Lo
Drafted 2nd overall in 2015, D’Angelo Russell was once a cherished member of the Lakers’ young core. In those days, Russell was leading the show for the Lakers, along with Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Kyle Kuzma. Russell was only a Laker for two seasons before being traded to the Nets and he bounced around to several more spots before landing back with the Lakers in 2023. As the replacement for Westbrook, D’Lo’s shooting was a godsend for LA and he was a key piece in their playoff run.
This season, however, all of that magic is gone. Russell has been abysmal on defense and he’s been struggling to hit shots for the past month and a half of the season. Currently, he’s down to an average of 14.7 points per game on 46.4% shooting. So despite being on the books for over $17 million this season, Russell has been relegated to the bench as the Lakers look for any opportunity to trade him. As they are quickly finding out, however, the market for a one-sided point guard isn’t at a high point right now.
Trades Are On The Way
With the internal clock ticking down for LeBron James, the Lakers are desperate to build a contender and compete for one last title. Unfortunately, they just don’t have enough to compete at that level right now and Rob Pelinka is working tirelessly to change that. Already, the Lakers have been involved in multiple trade rumors for various players, including Dejounte Murray, Zach LaVine, and even Terry Rozier.
To get any of those players will likely require giving up D’Angelo Russell and he could be the first domino to fall in Rob’s efforts to fix the roster. Either way, D’Angelo is going to keep his cool this season and try his best to rebound from what’s been a majorly disappointing start. Tonight, against the Jazz, Russell will have another chance to prove his worth and show the Lakers that he can be the guy that they need him to be.
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