EL SEGUNDO — As the Lakers wrapped up their Wednesday morning practice, Coach Darvin Ham said the team is in a “great space” ahead of what could be an eventful Thursday in light of the league’s noon PT trade deadline and their matchup against the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets later in the evening.
“You can’t worry about things you can’t control and you can’t focus on the unknown,” Ham said after practice ended.
The Lakers are coming off a 4-2 “Grammy” road trip – including three consecutive wins over the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets.
Their three-game winning streak is their longest stretch of victories since winning four straight in early December, a run that ended with the In-Season Tournament title game victory over the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas.
“What I know is we won three really good games in a row,” Ham said. “Guys are in a good place, we’re in a good rhythm. We’re gonna plan on getting some guys back healthy here pretty soon. Anything else, it’s irresponsible to speak on.”
Although Ham won’t address it, that won’t slow the deadline-related speculation that has been swirling for weeks.
And there’s one Laker whose name has been consistently mentioned in trade rumors over the past few months: D’Angelo Russell.
Russell’s name has been mentioned in the Lakers’ trade discussions, with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reporting that the 27-year-old guard was brought up in trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.
“I don’t care,” Russell responded after Monday’s victory over the Hornets when asked how he deals with the trade speculation. “Show up to work. That’s it.”
Since returning from a bruised tailbone, Russell has averaged 22.2 points (46.3% shooting overall, 44.9% from 3-point range), 6.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 16 games.
When asked if how he’s played over the last few weeks has given him peace of mind knowing he’s…
Read the full article here
