Hawks Fans Chant ‘We Don’t Want You’ at Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell amid Trade Rumors

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IIJanuary 31, 2024

Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell has been connected to the Atlanta Hawks in trade rumors, but it appears some fervent Hawks supporters don’t want to see him in town, so much so that they let their opinions known when the guard was at the free throw line during an L.A. at Atlanta game on Tuesday.

Dave McMenamin @mctenHawks fans chanting “We don’t want you!” with D’Angelo Russell at the FT line pic.twitter.com/fdH7yysOP7

Jovan Buha @jovanbuhaThe Hawks’ “6th Man Section” chanting “We don’t want you!” with D’Angelo Russell at the free throw line: pic.twitter.com/RS8AAtIstg

The Lakers reportedly covet Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, and Russell’s name has been thrown into those talks, according to multiple reporters.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic notably had this to say on the matter on Jan. 26.

“The Lakers have already tried to trade Russell for Murray. The two sides were close on a potential deal about two weeks ago, as I reported last week. Talks stalled, but are expected to resume ahead of the deadline. Murray remains the Lakers’ top priority on the trade market, according to multiple team and league sources not authorized to speak publicly.”

The Lakers and Hawks figure to be active at the trade deadline in some fashion or another. L.A. entered Tuesday with a 24-24 record, tied for ninth in the Western Conference.

That’s not an ideal spot for a team featuring an all-time great (LeBron James) and another superstar (Anthony Davis) on a squad that made the Western Conference Finals last year.

Meanwhile, the Hawks are floundering at 19-27, tied for 10th in the East. Making the play-in tournament might be tough enough for a disappointing Atlanta squad.

Ultimately, it won’t be a surprise to see the Lakers and Hawks move players, perhaps with each other. Whether Russell heads somewhere by the Feb. 8 trade deadline remains to be seen, but it’s clear some Hawks fans don’t want to see him in Atlanta.

In fairness to Russell, though, he has been on quite a heater lately, averaging 27.0 PPG on 51.2 percent shooting in his last nine contests. He could still be a great asset in Atlanta or wherever else he lands. Perhaps that’s in L.A. if the Lakers decide to keep him, but we’ll find out soon enough with the deadline a little over a week away.