The Los Angeles Lakers got off to a hot start this season leading to buzz that this team could surpass expectations as a Western Conference contender. After an early slide, the team is riding another win streak leading to more Lakers rumors about what will happen at the NBA trade deadline.
Los Angeles started the season 3-0 and then immediately lost four of its next five games to head into a three-game homestand with a 4-4 record. That’s when Lakers coach JJ Redick made a change, pushing D’Angelo Russell into a bench role against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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- D’Angelo Russell stats (starter): 12 PPG< 2.3 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1 SPG, 37.5% FG, 29.2% 3PT
Redick’s early coaching move paid off immediately. Los Angeles beat Philadelphia 116-106 and has since gone on a five-game winning streak entering Tuesday’s matchup against the Utah Jazz. As the team climbs up the NBA standings, though, there seems to be a shift in the organization’s thinking based on the latest Lakers rumors.
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According to Lakers’ insider Anthony Irwin of Clutch Points, Los Angeles is now “more reluctant” to part with Russell now that he’s playing well off the bench and the team is winning consistently.
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“In talking to sources close to the Lakers, Russell playing well in this role might make them a little more reluctant to part with him, as bench unit seriously struggled with Gabe Vincent at the helm,” Irwin wrote. “If this is actually who Russell can be for the rest of the season, the Lakers might get even more picky about who they’d trade him for, or would look to find a more reliable option than Vincent as part of a Russell trade.”
Anthony Irwin on Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell
- D’Angelo Russell stats (reserve): 12.2 PPG, 3.4 APG, 1.8 RPG, 1 SPG, 46% FG, 40% 3PT
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The 28-year-old guard is thus far thriving off the Lakers bench, providing valuable scoring when Redick needs to take out Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Meanwhile, Austin Reaves is averaging 18.8 PPG and shooting 39.6 percent from the perimeter during that same five-game span.
If Russell is taken off the trade block, though, it’s difficult to find many Lakers trade chips outside of future draft picks. Gabe Vincent’s contract makes him a negative asset and former first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino likely has minimal trade value at his point
As of now, even amid NBA rumors of the team’s interest in several All-Star players on the market, the team’s current plans would indicate it could be another quiet NBA trade deadline for Los Angeles.
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