LeBron James throws his support behind D'Angelo Russell

It's been quite the season for D'Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers, who has been caught in the middle of a whirlwind of rumors for months. But despite the speculation about his future, LeBron James said that he and his team never lost faith in the point guard.

“It takes a strong individual, especially when you’re hearing everything that goes around,” James told ESPN.

He continued: “You’re hearing the trade talks, you’re hearing this and that and whatever the case may be and ‘Is D-Lo the right fit?’ or whatever. One thing is, he just don’t waver."

"We never gave up on him either. Even when he went to the bench, we just still wanted to instill confidence in him because we knew we were going to need him. We need his ability — his uncanny ability — to rack up points in a bundle very fast," James concluded.

When the season began, Russell was posting admirable but not amazing numbers. And as the Lakers continued to suffer, Russell found himself on the bench. After his brief stay with the second unit and a few games missed because of injury, Russell returned to the starting five. Since then, he has been very productive and has earned his place on the roster.

It seems very likely that Russell will remain a starter for the rest of the season, especially after a slew of great games, like his 44-point explosion against the Milwaukee Bucks over the weekend. For the season, Russell is averaging 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.