D'Angelo Russell delivers clear message on Lakers trade rumors: 'I don't care'

As trade rumors heat up, there is increased speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers could be making a deal leading up to the February 8 deadline. There is an increasing amount of pressure on Head Coach Darvin Ham and the entire organization to put a winning product on the floor, and changes may be imminent.

Several players in Los Angeles have been rumored to be on the move. After the Lakers' road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, D'Angelo Russell was asked about the recurring trade rumors and how they affect him in his postgame press conference. D'Lo made it abundantly clear that he does not care about the rumors.

D'Angelo Russell will not allow himself to worry about getting traded

As someone who has been traded multiple times in this league before, D'Angelo knows that his 28-point outing on Monday and his overall solid on-court production as of late does not necessarily determine if he will be moved or not. Rather than concerning himself with endless rumors, he prefers to just focus on basketball.

"I don't care. At all," he said of the rumors. "Show up to work, that's it."

For a player with a very tradeable contract like Russell, getting worked up about being traded would almost be a natural response. But he explained that he does not want to stress about things he has no control over. "I can't control that my contract makes sense to be traded either," he said. "So I mean, just play. Can't control that. Once again, I don't care. At all."

When asked about why he decided not to include a no-trade clause in his contract extension with the Lakers this past summer, D'Lo said that he did it knowing what the standards of excellence are in Los Angeles.

"I just thought it made sense," he said. "Obviously I've been here before, I've played for the Lakers before. So I know what the requirements to be successful here are. So if you're part of the future here, you'll be successful. If you're not, you'll get traded."

In his final thoughts, D'Angelo reiterated his hands-off approach to trade deadline season. "I really just genuinely, humbly don't care because I know I can't control it, one. And two, I just won't allow my mind to go there. I like to focus on this and you guys see how I've been focusing on basketball and not comments and what's trending on socials."