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Amid Trade Rumors, D’Angelo Russell Gets Hailed as “Pitbull Without a Lease” After Dominant Display Against the Mavericks

Published 01/18/2024, 7:40 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking like their old self now as they managed to get a dominating win over the formidable team of Dallas Mavericks. With a score of 127-110, the City of Angels are back to .500 with their second consecutive victory this season. The main player who has been shining amongst all from the past few games is D’Angelo Russell. Ever since there were rumors about the Lakers wanting to trade him, the player has proved to critics time and again why he is a valuable asset for them. Even the former NBA player Gilbert Arenas spoke about DLo’s performances with the former football legend Shannon Sharpe on his podcast “Gil’s Arena.”

Arenas said “A Pitbull without a leash is more scary than a Pitbull with one. So the fact that the last three games DLo has got to be who we know him to be is been helping.” Even Sharpe commended Russell’s performance and that he was visibly more aggressive and confident in his play against the Mavs. He even pointed out that Russell is the type of player who if you show confidence will do miracles whereas if you play him for 2-3 minutes and take him out of a game just because of a bad pass or something “it jacks with his mind.”

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However, Sharpe asked Areans “If Lakers continue with their current lineup of DLo, Reaves, LeBron, Taurean and AD what can we expect moving forward?” To which Areans said, “I think more consistent play and they would be able to keep up with faster teams.” But then what happened to the trade rumors going around about DLo?

Is D’Angelo Russell getting traded or not?

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D’Angelo Russell’s skills were being doubted by fans and analysts alike which is part and parcel of being a professional athlete. However, in the last three games he has been averaging 27.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. Not only that, he has been the lead scorer for the City of Angels in two of three games shutting down all his critics. This leaves the question as to where his future lies and when he was asked about his trade rumors, he said, “It is what it is. Since I’ve been in the league, I’ve kind of been dealing with that to where I know I can’t control it.”

Even the head coach of the Lakers Darvin Ham showed his confidence in Russell. During the post match interview in the Mavericks match, he said that the reason they re-signed him was because they knew and believed in his skills. And due to the trade deadline coming closer, these trade talks are at the forefront. So, with Ham’s statements, it is clear that the Lakers are not ready to bid goodbye to the former All-Star.

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What are your thoughts on Russell’s performance? Let us know in the comments!

Watch this Story: Ex-lakers Star Regrets Rejecting Kobe Bryant’s Last Game Request: “I Wish I Would’ve”

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Written by:

Dhruv Shastry

720Articles

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Edited by:

Ruth John