LeBron James sends inspiring message to D'Angelo Russell amid trade buzz ahead of deadline day

LeBron James seemingly doesn't care about trade rumors surrounding LA Lakers teammate D'Angelo Russell. He sent a message to Russell, who has been linked to several teams like the Atlanta Hawks. Russell has been playing well recently for the struggling LA Lakers.

On Instagram stories, James shared images of the LA Lakers guard along with himself and an inspiring caption. It also had Russell's quote about having fun playing for the historic franchise for the second time:

"The boy 9Lo been in his (bag)!!!! Keep loading bro @dloading," James wrote.

D'Angelo Russell has been great for the LA Lakers since returning from a minor tailbone injury at the start of 2024. He's averaging 22.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists in eight games this month. His best game was a 39-point explosion in the Lakers' loss to the Utah Jazz on Jan. 13.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the LA Lakers discussed a potential trade with the Atlanta Hawks centered around Russell and Dejounte Murray. The Lakers were ready to trade Russell, a 2029 first-round pick and a pick swap to Atlanta.

However, the Hawks could not find a third team to receive Russell, who signed a two-year, $36 million contract last offseason. Charania expects the two teams to discuss the trade again before the Feb. 8 deadline.

However, with LeBron James showing support for Russell, it might be a message to the LA Lakers' front office to not trade the scoring guard, setting up an interesting few weeks for the most popular team in the league.

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LeBron James to miss LA Clippers game

LeBron James out for Tuesday's game with an injury.

The LA Lakers face the LA Clippers on Tuesday, having beaten their crosstown rivals in their last two meetings. However, they will have to do it without LeBron James, who has been ruled out.

According to Charania, James will miss out, as he's dealing with a peroneal tendinopathy in his left ankle, which has played through for about a month.

The four-time NBA champion has only missed four games this season. Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura are expected to pick up the minutes in James' absence.

Anthony Davis, who is also dealing with tendinopathy in his Achilles, will have to carry more load against the red-hot Clippers.

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