LeBron James Happy Lakers Didn’t Trade D’Angelo Russell

LeBron James is happy the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t trade D’Angelo Russell at this year’s NBA trade deadline. 

The Lakers shopped Russell but wound up keeping the lefty.

“It takes a strong individual, especially when you’re hearing everything that goes around,” LeBron said of Russell, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “You’re hearing the trade talks, you’re hearing this and that and whatever the case may be and ‘Is D-Lo the right fit?’ or whatever. One thing is, he just don’t waver.

“We never gave up on him either. Even when he went to the bench, we just still wanted to instill confidence in him because we knew we were going to need him. We need his ability — his uncanny ability — to rack up points in a bundle very fast.”

Russell is averaging 18.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists this season while shooting 47.1% from the field, 42.4% from beyond the arc and 80.1% from the free-throw line. He’s the third-best player on the Lakers behind LeBron and Anthony Davis. 

“I think he has the ability to do whatever the team needs, especially offensively,” LeBron said of Russell. “That’s what’s special about him. He can adapt to whatever the game calls for. But when D-Lo is at his best, he’s in attack mode.”

The Lakers are 36-30 on the season. They are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. 

Los Angeles is 38-22 when LeBron and Russell are in the lineup. The Lakers acquired Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves at last year’s NBA trade deadline. 

Russell grew up idolizing LeBron. When he made it to the NBA, Russell tracked down LeBron’s contact info and reached out just before his lone All-Star season in 2018-19 with the Brooklyn Nets. 

“I was like, ‘Bro, how do you become more consistent of a player?'” Russell said. “He said, ‘I read. I sleep. I eat. My routine is on point.’ I still got the text. And honestly, he was the reason I developed a routine.”