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Embattled Los Angeles Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell picked the wrong time to play his worst game since his return to the starting lineup.
The Atlanta Hawks fans heckled Russell which may have contributed to his poor showing, hitting only 3 of 11 shots to finish with just nine points in the Lakers’ 138-122 road loss on Tuesday, January 30.
Chants of “We don’t want you!” from the Hawks fans bombarded Russell while shooting free throws in the first half. Russell hit them both but struggled mightily against Dejounte Murray, the Lakers’ top target.
Murray hit three straight jumpers in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Hawks. The former All-Star guard finished with 24 points on 11 of 19 shots and came one assist shy of a double-double. Murray added two steals and he was a game-high plus-19, crystalizing the two-way impact he can provide if the Lakers are to acquire him.
After the game, Russell and Murray chatted for a while, sparking another round of trade rumors.
Will Lakers Reconsider Trading D’Angelo Russell?
After the Lakers-Hawks trade talks stalled, Russell went on to play his best basketball stretch until he hit the wall in Atlanta.
The Lakers won five of eight games. Everything was sunshine again in Los Angeles as NBA insider Marc Stein reported on January 28 that the Lakers had a change of heart in the Russell- Murray swap and Hawks coach Quin Snyder lobbying for his team to keep Murray.
“The Lakers were initially said to be willing to package Russell with a first-round pick in 2029 and a first-round pick swap in exchange for Murray — with Austin Reaves completely off limits. That pursuit appears to have been dialed back some with Russell playing so well,” Stein wrote in his January 28 substack newsletter.
But after this poor Russell showing and back-to-back losses, will Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka re-ignite trade talks?
LeBron James put more pressure on the Lakers front office with his cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter) following Tuesday’s loss.
LeBron James’ Frustrations Nearly Reach Boiling Point
James, who had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the loss, nearly went off toward the end of his postgame interview in his locker room, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
James was asked if he had anything to tell his teammates upon entering the next leg of the trip.
“I don’t have any message for my teammates,” James said. “Just go out and do your job.”
James started his next thought by saying, “I mean … ” then chuckled to himself, the frustration clear from his voice, when a team staffer thanked him for his time and ended the interview session.
“Way to cut me off,” James said as he turned away from reporters. “Because I was about to go in.”
James, 39, has a $51.4 million player option for next season.
His future with the Lakers had been the subject of speculation amid the team’s recent struggles and with his son, Bronny James, eligible to enter the NBA Draft in June.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has been covering James since his high school days, expressed doubts that the Lakers superstar will remain in Los Angeles beyond this season.
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen with LeBron in 2025,” Windhorst said on the January 17 episode of his “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast. “I feel like LeBron is gonna play next year, but I don’t know if it’s gonna be for the Lakers.”
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