Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers should keep emerging guard instead of making a trade-deadline deal

By Ethan Temkin | Last updated 2/7/24

Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell – the subject of season-long trade rumors – is playing so well that the team should keep him rather than deal him before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the re-emergence of Russell, along with the difficulty of trading for players such as Toronto's Bruce Brown or Atlanta's Dejounte Murray without including his salary, may force the Lakers to hold off on a big trade until the offseason. That's when Los Angeles will have an extra first-round pick and more financial flexibility.

"The [Lakers] calculus has changed with the re-emergence of D'Angelo Russell... 3 weeks to a month ago, he was very available. That isn't the case anymore."

Woj on the liklihood of the Lakers making a trade ahead of the deadline ️

(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/rdEqv9fRQV
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 7, 2024

Since his re-insertion into the starting lineup on Jan. 13, Russell is averaging 24 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 46.6% from three on 8.9 attempts per game. The Lakers have won their past three games – including back-to-back wins against the Boston Celtics (38-12) and New York Knicks (33-18) – thanks in large part to Russell.

With Chicago's Zach Lavine out for the season after undergoing foot surgery and talks stalling between the Lakers and the Hawks on Murray, per Brian Windhorst on "The Hoop Collective," there isn't a trade that will move the needle for Los Angeles.

"Teams want D'Angelo and stuff. And the Lakers [feel] that price just doesn't make sense for [them]," Windhorst wrote on ESPN.com.

Entering play on Wednesday, the Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind fifth-place Sacramento Kings. With Russell playing the best ball of his career alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers would be wise to keep him instead of making yet another in-season makeover.

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