D’Angelo Russell Glad Lakers Didn’t Trade Him: ‘I Definitely Wanted To Be Here’

During an interview with NBA reporter Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports, D’Angelo Russell admitted that he’s happy the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t trade him at this year’s NBA trade deadline. 

The Lakers offered Russell to the Atlanta Hawks for Dejounte Murray, but a deal never came to fruition. 

“Hell yeah,” Russell said of his excitement to still be a Laker. “I’ve been enjoying it. The energy is good. I enjoy being in L.A. But I wanted to be somewhere I’m wanted. So, for me, if they don’t want me, I’m cool. I’ll go. I’ll play in Detroit, to be honest. Like, I just want to be wanted. But yeah, I definitely wanted to be here.”

Russell re-signed with the Lakers last offseason on a two-year, $36 million contract. He’s making $17.3 million this season and has a player option next season worth $18.7 million. 

“Honestly, everybody around me, like my friends, my family, they were kinda panicking a little bit, panicking for me,” Russell said. “And I kinda just never let my mind go there. For me, it was wake up, come to work. I just kinda stayed in that moment. It allowed me to catch a vibe, just flow through basketball, you know.”

Russell is averaging 17.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks this season while shooting 46.5% from the field, 41.7% from beyond the arc and 81.0% from the free-throw line. He’s third on the Lakers in points per game, second in assists per game and first in 3-point field goals. 

“I never played to not get traded,” Russell said. “I was just kinda like, f— it. And that ‘f— it’ allowed me to play my game. … Guys come in, they care about their percentages, they care about all this stuff and then they struggle. As soon as I stopped caring about it, I played my best basketball of my career.”

The Lakers are 30-26 on the season. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings.

Russell, 27, averaged 23.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 46.6% overall and 46.0% from 3 over his last 16 games before the NBA All-Star break. 

“Early, I was kinda trying to figure it out around these guys and that may have not been the best way to do it,” Russell said. “But, I know I’m at my best when I don’t think. And next to these guys, you’ve got to think. But me, I’m a high-IQ basketball player, so the more I don’t think, the better I am.”