The Lakers starting point guard has been dealing with trade rumors.
The NBA Trade Deadline is on Thursday, Feb. 8 and perhaps no team has been involved in more trade rumors than the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have gotten off to a disappointing first half of the season, wallowing near the bottom half of the Western Conference standings despite having what many considered to be a strong offseason. One of the names who has come up in trade rumors for the Lakers quite frequently is D’Angelo Russell. Russell apparently underwent treatment but will be ready to play in the Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets as per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Darvin Ham says D’Angelo Russell had a “tune up procedure” yesterday and was unable to practice today. When asked about Russell’s availability for tomorrow, Ham said: “We’ll see”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2024
D’Angelo Russell did not practice with the Lakers on Wednesday ahead of their game against the Nuggets and predictably, it caused more rumors regarding his status as a member of the team as the NBA Trade Deadline approaches. According to McMenamin, Russell was originally going to be listed as questionable following the procedure but that isn’t the case anymore.
Darvin Ham says D’Angelo Russell had a “tune up procedure” yesterday and was unable to practice today. When asked about Russell’s availability for tomorrow, Ham said: “We’ll see”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2024
A team spokesperson for the Lakers clarified that D’Angelo Russell underwent a “treatment” rather than a procedure. Russell will likely be listed as questionable for the DEN game, a source familiar with his status told ESPN.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2024
Even if Russell was to be moved by the trade deadline, it’s not likely that would affect his status on the Lakers injury report. He’s seen an uptick in his play since the trade chatter got louder in recent weeks.
Russell has played in 48 games for the Lakers this season and he’s been averaging 17.3 points per game, 2.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists with splits of 46.5 percent shooting from the field, 41.6 percent shooting from the three point line and 80 percent shooting from the free throw line.
The Lakers are currently 27-25 and in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. They’re only a game ahead of the 10th place Utah Jazz, however.
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