Lakers players not worried about future ahead of trade deadline

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the NBA equivalent of the teacher telling the class “Pencils down” because testing period is over, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Hornets 124-118 on Monday to improve to 27- 25 and will wait from now on. to see what happens to their team before Thursday's trade deadline.

The win secured Los Angeles a successful 4-2 road trip and extended its winning streak to three – the Lakers' longest winning streak since their four-game winning streak in early December, culminating with the Lakers' tournament championship victory. the season in Las Vegas.

While wins against quality opponents such as the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks were encouraging, and even the Hornets' victory required some temerity to avoid a late run by a young ballclub playing without pressure, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka has been “stuck on the phone” all day, a team source told ESPN, discussing potential deals.

If something materializes, Los Angeles' roster could look a lot different the next time it takes the court Thursday night against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

After a run to the Western Conference Finals last spring, Los Angeles is No. 9 in the West and would need to catch the No. 6 Phoenix Suns, who are three games ahead with 30 games remaining, to avoid the play-in tournament.

The Lakers' top point defender, Jarred Vanderbilt, was diagnosed Monday with a sprained right midfoot that will keep him sidelined for at least the next three to four weeks before being reevaluated, and their backup point guard, Gabe Vincent, continues to be sidelined with a knee injury after playing in just five games so far this season.

With the Lakers facing these undeniable challenges, while ranking 20th in offense and 14th in defense overall, LeBron James was asked if he thinks the team is good enough as it's currently constructed to win a championship or whether changes would be prudent.

“It's not a question for me,” James said after closing the road trip with 26 points on 12-of-22 shooting — including several jaw-dropping dunks — in 40 minutes to secure the victory. “I like who we have in the locker room. And that's all I'm worried about.”

James added: “We're going to go out and prepare every night, no matter what. It doesn't matter who's on this team. No matter what.”

The only Laker to outplay James on Monday was D'Angelo Russell, who led the team with 28 points and added six assists.

Russell's name has been mentioned in trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks in recent weeks, sources told ESPN, while the point guard has managed to play some of the best basketball of his career. career.

Over his last 16 games, since returning from a bruised tailbone, Russell has averaged 22.2 points on 46.3 percent shooting (44.9 percent from 3) with 2.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, and LA went 10-6.

“I don't care. At all,” Russell responded when asked how he would handle the speculation ahead of the deadline. “Show up for work. That’s all.”

When asked to elaborate, the 27-year-old referred to the terms of his $17.3 million contract, which includes an $18.7 million player option for next season, as being simply having a size that could fit into a plethora of potential deals.

“I mean, I can't control whether my contract makes sense to be traded either,” Russell said. “So, I mean, just play. You can't control that. Again, I don't care. At all.”

Russell could have avoided this situation this summer when he took over the colors of the Lakers. The nature of his contract would have included an implicit no-trade clause; however, he and his agent waived this stipulation.

Russell was asked to explain why he chose to give up his ability to block any trade this season.

“I just thought it made sense,” Russell said. “Obviously, I've been here before, I've played for the Lakers before, so I know what the conditions are to be successful here. So if you're part of the future here, you'll be successful. If you're No, you will be traded. And I've been traded here before. So my approach is just a little bit different.

“I don't care, sincerely and humbly, because I know I can't control it, number one. And number two, I just won't allow my mind to go there. I like to focus on that and you see how I focused on basketball and not on comments and trends on social media.”

While their play hasn't always meshed perfectly this season, Russell and James' responses were certainly in sync in Charlotte.

Until something happens, the players' responsibility is to do their job, as usual.

“This is what we have,” James said. “So there is nothing further to say.”