D'Angelo Russell picked the worst time possible to have arguably his worst game of the season. Russell finished the Laker's 124-108 loss vs. the Bulls with a mere two points and two assists in 28 minutes of play. Ironically, Russell had his struggles against the team in which is involved in heavy trade speculation with the Los Angeles Lakers which he has been increasingly a large part of.

Darnell Mayberry, Jovan Buha, Jovan Buha, and Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic have indicated that the Lakers would be interested in a Zach Lavine trade centered around D'Angelo Russell and his tradeable contract. But, the Lakers are reluctant to deplete their depth in the hypothetical trade.

“For LaVine specifically, I think the Lakers would consider a D’Angelo Russell-centric deal, but I don’t think they’d throw in much more than a combination of salary filler (Rui Hachimura and/or Gabe Vincent), a young prospect (Max Christie or Jalen Hood-Schifino) and a protected pick (2029 or 2030 first rounder). The Lakers would fight to keep Hachimura and Christie, to be clear. But I see that offer on the high end of what they’d be willing to give up.”

The Bulls have actually been better without Lavine, who is sidelined with right foot inflammation. The Bulls started the year 5-14 with Lavine in the lineup but have been 7-3 in their last 10 games without him. This fact might make the Bulls front office more apt to move Lavine, as his dismissal from the team via trade wouldn't significantly hurt the team's chances to win.

Lakers fans have increasingly been rooting for a trade, citing that Russell's play isn't conducive of a starting point guard on a championship contender.

Lakers fan and social media manager for The Athletic saw Russell's stats and tweeted, “I ain't watched the game, but by looking at the box score… It appears DLo has officially checked out.”

Russ Dimes saw Russell's struggles as vindication for comments that seemed aimed at Russell Westbrook following his trade from the Lakers and subsequent buyout from the Jazz in which he joined the Clippers and became a productive contributor.

“D’Angelo Russell previously stated that he wanted to bring the fun back to the Lakers organization after the Lakers traded Russ for him. Clearly taking a shot at Westbrook. Now the Lakers are looking to trade him after not even completing 1 full season with the Lakers. While Russell Westbrook is in a position to win a championship with the Clippers. How quickly the tables have turned.”

However, some fans look at a possible Lavine-Russell-centered trade as a bad move for the Bulls considering Russell's poor play as of late.

@TheoHuxtable tweeted “D’Angelo Russell had the same amount of points as Dalen Terry. Now, why would the Bulls want him?!”

Meanwhile, Jacob Watkins simply tweeted, “I don’t want D’Angelo Russell on the Bulls.”

It'll be interesting to see how things play out for both the Lakers and the Bulls as the trade deadline looms in February.