ANNOUNCEMENT: D’Angelo Russell, Announce Resignation And Departure From Los Angeles Lakers Today….

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t yet deviated from their original NBA trade deadline plans despite star LeBron James indirectly applying some pressure to the organization, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst said Sunday on SportsCenter that “we’re about an ‘8’ on the ‘LeBron Passive Aggressive Trade Deadline’ time scale.

This is after James posted an hourglass emoji on X, formerly known as Twitter, with no additional context.

Windhorst reported, however, Los Angeles isn’t showing signs of sudden desperation.

“The Lakers to this point, from what I am told by sources, have not reacted to LeBron’s maneuvers, including wearing the Knicks towel last night, and they have kind of held firm in their talks,” he said.

“The issue with the Lakers is they have only a couple of draft assets left, and they just want to hold onto them.”

James has become a master of passive aggression, and he’s turning to that playbook with Thursday’s deadline fast approaching.

It’s not just that the four-time MVP said he remains undecided about whether he’ll pick up his $51.4 million player option for next season.

It’s that paired with him saying he has weighed the idea of playing with the New York Knicks in the past, wearing a Knicks towel to the locker room after Saturday’ 113-105 win, and responding to a post from business partner Paul Rivera with Statue of Liberty and crown emojis.