Los Angeles Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell says he isn't fazed by trade rumors at this stage of his NBA career.

“Hell no. It is what it is,” Russell replied when asked if he's made “uncomfortable” by hearing his name included in pre-trade deadline chatter (Russell has previously said he feels “comfortable” in Los Angeles).

“Since I've been in the league, I've kind of been dealing with that. I know I can't control it … No matter how well you play, how professional you act, how many shots you make or miss. It's gonna happen, regardless. I don't even go about my day worrying about that, to be honest.”

Russell's comments came after the Lakers' embarrassing 127-109 defeat to the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Russell finished with 19 points (7-for-14 shooting) and six assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

Russell is an obvious trade candidate for the sputtering Lakers, considering his shooting, pick-and-roll playmaking, and friendly contract: 2 years, $37 million, second-year player option. (Russell told ClutchPoints he waived his implied no-trade clause for increased flexibility.)

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham didn't sound concerned about Russell's ability to compartmentalize.

“He's been around this league a long time. That's just the nature of our business. … [Your name] is always gonna be thrown around in something. And until that something, you just need to stay professional, keep your head down, keep working your butt off, and hopefully good things happen.”

Russell, 27, has been traded four times in his eight-year career, including once by the Lakers.

The Lakers' fifth loss in seven games dropped them to 19-20 and into a tie for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

“We got enough in our locker room right now to get some stuff done, to get a lot of stuff done in short order,” Ham added when asked if the Lakers have identified areas of need with the deadline less than one month away. “Anything long-term beyond that, you might want to talk to [Rob Pelinka].”

DLo, who hadn't addressed the media for nearly two weeks (in part because of a tailbone injury) also downplayed his demotion to the bench. (He did question the Lakers' offensive system). Russell averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 assists in 22 minutes in six games as a reserve entering Thursday.

“Just playing basketball at the end of the day. That's what it is. New role, new timing, all that. Once I get out there, it's just basketball.”