On Tuesday night, two players who had been rumored to be in a trade came face-to-face, one being Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell and the other being Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray.
There are numerous reports that the Lakers are acquiring Murray from the Hawks and intend to use Russell as a player to facilitate a potential trade.
The Lakers have until February 8, the NBA deadline, to finalize a deal.
The Lakers (24-25) are below .500 after a 138-122 loss to Atlanta at State Farm Arena, their second straight loss in six games, and could use an injection of positivity from somewhere. It's necessary.
At the start of Tuesday's game, Russell and Murray guarded each other, making for an interesting scene considering the topic.
Before the game, Atlanta manager Quin Snyder declined to answer reporters' questions about trade rumors.
“You shouldn't even have to answer that question,” Synder said. “I think I've made it clear that I don't comment on rumors or speculation. It's not my business.”
Hawks fans did.
They wanted Russell to know how they felt when he was shooting free throws in the first half.
“We don't need you!” they chanted over and over again.
There was a moment in the fourth quarter when Hawks fans understood why they still wanted Murray and why the Lakers were showing so much interest in the two-way guard.
Murray breezed past Russell, pulled up for a 12-foot jumper and stared at the Lakers' bench before returning to the court.
Murray won the game with 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting, nine assists, and two steals.
Russell, who has been struggling lately, scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting.
When Murray hit a straight drive to the basket to give the Hawks an 18-point lead, Lakers coach Darvin Ham called a timeout with 3:21 left.
It was a tougher game for the Lakers, as Anthony Davis was out with Achilles tendon pain and left hip spasms, but he was a non-starter. This was the third game Davis has missed this season.
When asked if he would play against the Celtics in Boston on Thursday, Davis responded emphatically.
“Oh, well, yeah,” he said.
But without him against the Hawks, it was left to 39-year-old LeBron James to play in back-to-back games and lead the Lakers.
James had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes.
Austin Reeves scored a season-high 28 points.
The journey will only get tougher for the Lakers, with a Thursday night home game in Boston, a team with the NBA's best record (37-11) and 22-2 record, and a Saturday night home game in New York (31-2). The match will be held with 17 wins and 17 losses. , the team with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
So, James was asked if the Lakers can survive this situation against these two teams.
His answer said a lot about the state of the Lakers.
“It's possible,” he said. “Any night, [we can] Beat any team in the NBA. And they could be attacked by any team in the NBA at any time.That's all [facts]. What is our record? Is it less than .500? Huh, 24-25? That's where we are. ”
About 30 minutes before tipoff, Christian Wood posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) that said, “LOL,” which was roughly the same as the Lakers announced their starting lineup, which included Jackson Hayes in place of Davis. It was at the same time.
Since Wood was not selected as a starter, he was asked what he was referring to in the message.
“I was going to quote something. But I didn't have a quote. I thought that was it and just hit send, but I couldn't check my phone because I had to be out, but… It was an accident,” he said. “So I didn't mean it that way…I just saw it. It didn't make any sense…it happened in a certain way. I didn't mean it that way.”
He was also asked if it was normal for him to post messages on social media close to game time.
“No, no, no,” Wood said. “So, I get it. It has nothing to do with basketball, and it definitely has nothing to do with basketball.”
