While D'Angelo was focused on the team, what he lived during the trading rumors

D'Angelo Russell has been displaying some of his best basketball in the last few weeks, but he had his future uncertain at that moment as different reports and rumors had him with the possibility of leaving LA, even though it was said that it was close to being traded for Dejounte Murray.

In the end, the Lakers stood pat in the trade deadline with the organization betting on continuity and appreciating the effort D'Lo has been giving this season and with the clear support of teammates like LeBron James.

Russell admitted that the final weeks before the deadline were stressful for his friends and family, but it never affected him and the results spoke for themselves, according to Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports:

“Honestly, everybody around me, like my friends, my family, they were kinda panicking a little bit, panicking for me,” Russell told FOX Sports. “And I kinda just never let my mind go there. For me, it was wake up, come to work. I just kinda stayed in that moment. It allowed me to catch a vibe, just flow through basketball, you know.”

D'Angelo Russell revealed that as soon as he stopped caring, he played his best basketball

The Lakers guard spoke about how he was able to put aside all the noise and focus on being the best version of himself on the court: “Guys come in, they care about their percentages, they care about all this stuff and then they struggle,” Russell told FOX Sports. “As soon as I stopped caring about it, I played my best basketball of my career.”