"You're not gonna be on team in March" - NBA insider speculates D'Angelo Russell is still under trade spotlight with Lakers

Longtime sports writer Bill Simmons doesn't think LA Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell will be with the team when the 2024-25 NBA season ends. In the new episode of his show, 'The Bill Simmons Podcast', the insider speculated that Russell might get traded by the franchise.

Russell has constantly been in trade talks since he arrived in LA. Luckily, no discussion has gone into anything serious as he's still with the team. But that doesn't mean his place in the team is secured.

He exercised his $18.6 million player option from his two-year, $36 million contract extension with the Lakers this offseason.

With an expiring contract, there's no assurance that he'll stay a Laker moving forward.

"D'Angelo, maybe don't start looking at HoopsHype around early December when the trade rumor season starts because you're not gonna be on the team in March … I'm sorry. Seems like a nice guy," Simmons shared.

Even with the trade talks, Russell remains positive in his stay with the Lakers. New head coach JJ Redick also diffused the rumors about his future with the team. Redick shared that he aims to help the one-time All-Star have a "career year" with the team this season.

Russell has also focused on playing, ignoring trade rumors that have surrounded him.

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Redick gets approval from D'Angelo Russell

D'Angelo Russell has been with various coaches in his career. However, having Redick as the Lakers' coach is different as Russell praised him during the team's media day.

"I'm not throwing shots at anybody ... but I've never really had the opportunity to build a relationship with a coach over a long period of time," Russell said. "For me to see how JJ is trying to bring the playcalls and just level of IQ into each practice and each film session, to see how he's prioritizing that. I've always been a guy that wants to prioritize high IQ, [high-level] verbiage, [high-level] film sessions ... like, let's rise to that. And he's obviously doing that. It's something to look forward to."

Russell is coming off a season where he put up 18.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists. However, fans have criticized the point guard for his subpar performance during the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

His numbers dropped to 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. The star guard made the most of his chances as he made 41.5% of his long-range shots.

His efficiency from the field wasn't impressive as he only made 38.4% of his shots from the field. Russell's 3-pointers also took a hit during the postseason, as he only made 31.8%.

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