LA Lakers trade rumors: Dejounte Murray deal looking 'unrealistic' amid D'Angelo Russell's hot streak

The LA Lakers have expressed interest in parting ways with D'Angelo Russell mid-season. This was due to a lack of confidence in his game considering how underwhelming he has performed for the team in the first few months of the season. Russell failed to deliver on what was expected of him hence the Lakers seeing the need to find a better player.

One player on the LA Lakers' list was the Atlanta Hawks' Dejounte Murray. Both D'Angelo Russell and Murray play similar roles for their respective teams. However, looking at their performances individually, Dejounte stood out more than D'Angelo. This caught the attention of the Lakers since they've been in dire need of a consistent scorer who can help the team secure wins.

But as of late, Russell stepped up his game and has finally met LA's expectations of him. Looking at his last eight games, "D-Lo" put up All-Star numbers wherein two of those games he scored more than 30 points. As for the other six games, he put up points in the high 20s range. Considering how D'Angelo has kept his impeccable performances consistent so far, it appears that the Lakers no longer see the need to acquire Murray.

Brooklyn Nets beat reporter Erik Slater recently tweeted about sources telling NBA correspondent Marc Stein that the Lakers' interest in Dejounte Murray has died down a bit due to the way Russell has performed recently. One source also suggested that the trade for Murray could be unrealistic at this point.

---

Looking at D'Angelo Russell's recent performances amid the NBA trade deadline

Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors

As we got deeper into nearing the NBA trade deadline, D'Angelo Russell was heavily rumored to be sent away by the LA Lakers. Memes and viral photos of him looking upset hinted towards the fans' speculations that the Lakers were already set on trading him to another team. However, it appears that Russell took these rumors as motivation and has proven to LA that he belongs with the Purple and Gold.

As of this season, the Lakers' current big three consists of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves. But with the way "D-Lo" has performed as of late, he's looking more like the third member of the big three than Reaves. Looking at the past 10 games, Russell looked like a star on the hardwood averaging 25.0 points, 6.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

While the majority of the last 10 games have been a pleasing surprise for the Lakers, Russell had three most notable performances during his hot streak.

On January 13 against the Utah Jazz, D'Angelo caught fire and put up 39 points alongside eight assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Then he had another 30-point outing when he put up 34 points against the Portland Trail Blazers last Sunday. Finally, there was his double-double performance last Tuesday against the LA Clippers wherein he added 27 points and 10 assists.

To sum everything up, D'Angelo Russell is finally meeting the LA Lakers' expectations of him and might've just saved his career and his spot on the team.