If the Lakers make a major move before the trade deadline, D’Angelo Russell could be part of the package. He’s on a two-year contract that includes an $18.7MM player option.
Russell’s strong recent play shows that he’s not distracted by trade rumors, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. The veteran guard averaging 27.2 points on 55.9% shooting and 6.4 assists in his last five games since being reinserted into the starting lineup.
“You’ve got to be aggressive around these guys,” Russell said, referring to Anthony Davis and LeBron James. “You complement these guys by being aggressive – not passing to them. That’s easy to guard. You’re easy to guard when it’s like that. Just watching it and watching a lot of guys on the team make those decisions, when I came back, I was like ‘I’m going to be aggressive in those instances’ and I’ll see how it complements them. And it’s been complementing them so far.”
We have more on the Los Angeles teams:
- The Lakers and Clippers will square off on Tuesday but a key player won’t suit up. James has been ruled out by the Lakers due to left ankle soreness, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It will be James’ fifth missed game this season. The Lakers have a 2-2 record without him.
- Clippers guard Russell Westbrook had a 23-point outing in the comeback victory against the Nets, his largest output since a 24-point game against the Lakers on Nov. 1. Westbrook essentially played center in a small-ball lineup on Sunday during the rally. “I’ve been emphasizing defensively for me, it’s huge this year,” Westbrook told Law Murray of The Athletic. “Guarding one through five, no matter what it is. Position, time, score, possession. Being help side. Rebounding, boxing out. All the small things that need to be done. I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to win basketball games. And tonight, my job was to guard the five and do a great job of being in coverage, reading defenses, communicating. And, you know, I did the best of my abilities to be able to close the game out.”
- James Harden feels vindicated after forcing his way out of Philadelphia and demanding a trade to the Clippers. Many people were skeptical how Harden would fit in with the Clippers’ stars but the team has surged up the Western Conference standings. “Obviously it didn’t start off well,” said Harden, per Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found.”
BUT JO AINT MVP RIGHT???
Yes an impressive feat against the first place Spurs lol. I won the superbowl in madden on easy mode can u mail me a trophy too?
I knew you were about as smart as pet rock but it’s hilarious how far you’ll go to prove it. Saying scoring 70 on any NBA team is a new low for you. Go back to Madden, Im sure 2k is too confusing.
Literally..gone…vanished… Literally
Harden is over rated…
Harden said the 76ers held him back and he wanted out so he can be the focal point of the offense. His PPG and assists are both down with the Clippers. He isn’t vindicated, he’s trying to save face.
Harden has literally never known what he wants or thinks.
He always needed bigger stars than him on a team…
Now that he’s the defacto 3rd star with Westbrook he looks more like a piece that can fit around stars than he ever did as someone who can be a co-star…
I wonder how long Russ will keep playing for Vet minimum to stay in LA? You’d think he could easily get and probably worth 10-15 per year as a sixth man somewhere. For the Clippers to give him that, as high into the tax as they are, I think they’d actually be paying around 30-40 mil for Russ (to come off the bench) Would/could they do that? Seems a bit over the top even for Ballmer.
That makes a ton of sense but as we can see with him and other guys like perhaps harden, it’s all about fit and how the coach uses them and the players adjust to their skill set.
Staying with the Clippers keeps him in the league I believe. Two three more years with this great change in Attitude and he’ll still be very good player. Concentrating on defense and doing what he can to help the team instead of chasing triple doubles or insisting on starting every game.
It’s working out well. And it all has to do with Russ making it happen.
I definitely thought Russ was gonna be another Iverson… Where the post prime years were all about trying to recapture the box scores of his prime…
But to have him be this willing to be a 6th man and play defence consistently is a welcome surprise…
If he keeps it up he definitely has a few more years in him…
“It gave people so much to talk about in a negative way and now those people that were talking are nowhere to be found. Like, literally nowhere to be found.”
Well, the Sixers are Cancer Free!!!
First time in Years!!
Fortunately Nick nurse has been a good hire. Smooth transition and keeping the pace.
Nurse is a very good coach.
Give it time – the tumor will take hold in LA come playoff time.
It must be great for 76ers fans to have a likeable team that tries hard and has playoff aspirations… 3 things thst have been hard to come by at the same time for a while now…
I think Harden convinced us he is the victim, even though he signed his contract with the 76ers THEN demanded a trade. All in all though, its worked great for both parties, with embid dropping 70 and Maxey Giving you 24 and 6 every night and with harden coming in for the clippers and doing damage, it improved both teams
I can see LeBron leveraging a trade to the Clips if the Lakers slide.
He stays in LA, plays with a super team and the Clips send the Lakers pieces for a rebuild.
Clips have the young talent.
LeBron could reunite with Ty Lue, one his all time favorite coaches and finally play on a squad with Kawhi…
What does this trade look like I’m curious