D'Angelo Russell continues to play well despite trade rumors

NBA Trade Deadline: The Los Angeles Lakers scored a big, impressive win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night and D'Angelo Russell was a huge part of that victory.

Russell led his team with a score of 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, shooting 55% from the field. He was 11-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-7 from beyond the three-point line.

Russell's performance helped his team reach .500 again and it comes amid a lot of speculation about his future with the team.

The star guard was one of the five starters for the Lakers on Wednesday, which was a change from a few weeks before when head coach Darvin Ham relegated Russell to being a bench player.

When Ham decided to move Russell to part of the team's second unit, the team had lost four straight games and it was clear that something needed to change.

Russell spent some time as a bench player but he has worked his way back into the starting rotation and is performing much better, averaging 27.3 points and 5.6 assists per game on 53.4% from the field and 52% from the three-point arc.

All season long, there have been rumors of the Lakers dealing Russell away before the February trade deadline but now some people aren't so sure if that'll happen because of his recent output on the court.

On Wednesday night, Ham said that he and the team believe in Russell and said he isn't paying much attention to rumors of him being sent to another franchise.

Russell is doing better when it matters most and now there is a good chance that the Lakers decide to stick with Russell, at least for the rest of the season.