After putting together a modest two-game winning streak, the Los Angeles Lakers fell back down to earth when they lost to the Phoenix Suns on primetime.
It was a listless performance from the Lakers who were blown out on their home floor, erasing all the optimism they built the past week.
Los Angeles has severely underwhelmed their preseason expectations and are now expected to be aggressive ahead of the trade deadline.
Rob Pelinka pulled off a miracle last season when he revamped the roster with multiple trades, and it looks like he’ll need to sprinkle the same sort of magic on the team again if they hope to compete.
D’Angelo Russell is a logical trade chip given his contract situation, but also because he’s taken a backseat in the rotation.
While Russell is coming off the bench now, he believes that the Lakers can still figure things out via The Athletic.
“I think we can still find the light at the end of the tunnel,” Russell said.
“I think we can still find the light at the end of the tunnel.”
– D’Angelo Russell on the Lakers
(Via @TheAthleticNBA ) pic.twitter.com/gAXGZ3LQxm
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 12, 2024
Russell hasn’t been very consistent during the 2023-24 NBA season, though it would be unfair to pin the team’s struggles on him.
Los Angeles is mediocre defensively, while offensively they’re one of the worst units in the league.
The Lakers have been linked to several big-name targets so far, and those rumors only figure to get louder as the trade deadline approaches.
To Russell’s point, half of the regular season still remains but the team hasn’t really shown they can win games consistently and that should raise some concerns in the organization.
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